Tides of magic
by dantemalfoy
Summary: As Muggle surveillance threatens the very existence of the wizarding world, Minister Potter resorts to desperate measures and contacts the Draco that resides twenty years in the past. The ebb and flow of magic and time swirl around Hogwarts while unknown powers assail them. Slash Draco/Harry.
1. Hogsmeade Owl Post Office

_This is the story I wrote for slythindor100's 25 Days of Harry and Draco in 2014. It has 25 chapters and the rating will eventually go up. Thanks to the mod at the comm for the wonderful photo prompts which helped shape the story. The titles of the chapters refer to the prompts used for each one.  
><em>

_There are plenty of plot twists ahead, as well as slash of the Draco/Harry variety._

* * *

><p><strong>Winter 2018<strong>

Harry trudged alone in the snow, occasionally raising his hand to touch the Weasley scarf wrapped tightly around his neck, a comforting reminder of a time irrevocably lost.

He glanced up at the facades of the stores in High Street, the Hogsmeade buildings dappled with the waning light of the evening sky. Bands of cobalt blue and Slytherin green hung suspended high above him; they reminded him of the Northern Lights Hermione once showed him in a travel book.

Harry stopped in front of the Post Office, the muted hooting sounds coming from within lightening his mood ever so slightly. They brought to his mind Hedwig and the carefree time of childhood, when magic was new and the only nemesis he faced was…

His face twisting in a painful grimace, Harry squared his shoulders and opened the door. If the rumors Ron had heard were right, he might have an opportunity to correct things. It was a very slim chance, but Harry always had the tendency to doggedly hang on to hope.

The tinkling sounds from the doorbell alerted the clerk, who closed a ledger and then looked at him.

"What can I do for the Minister of Magic?" the wizard said with an unctuous smile. "Allow me to introduce myself, Mr. Potter. My name is Chronus Skemp."

Harry nudged up his glasses with his thumb. For a moment the man seemed to be surrounded by a halo, his silhouette shimmering in and out of focus as if he was inside a Ministry lift which receded into the horizon.

"Is it true what they say, about your owls?" Harry said wearily, his fingers fishing inside the pocket of his cloak to brush against soft vellum.

"I assure you it is true, Mr. Potter." Skemp's weathered face broke up in a slight smile. "The Muggles grow ever bolder, and they probe the wards around Hogwarts with sophisticated equipment as they try to find us."

"So if I send a letter…" Harry trailed off, his gaze sliding along the perches where the owls stared down at him, some with benign expressions, and others unfathomably.

"The owls fly into the night," Skemp mused. "They are charmed to pass through the wards that Ms. Granger-Weasley designed herself, though they have been subtly altered by the Muggle probing which causes the weird colors of the sky. The strange mix of both our worlds - quantum and magic - has unusual consequences. Some recipients get their letters in the past."

"How far into the past?" Harry gripped tightly his Hawthorne wand, the only memento he kept from Draco and that winter long ago when hope was briefly renewed and life appeared to be an open road.

"It depends on the owl you choose." Skemp lifted his arms and made a sweeping gesture around the room to indicate the owls, many of which ruffled their feathers as if they were bothered by the scrutiny. "I've been made aware of letters received as long ago as twenty years."

Harry nodded as he walked along the walls, hands stuck in his pockets as he stared intently at the owls.

"Choose wisely," Skemp said dryly and then opened the ledger, his fingers picking up a white quill.

Harry's boots thudded softly in the wooden floor, the hooting of the owls calming his nerves when he made his way around the room as he tried to gauge the suitability of the birds for this task. How would he make his choice amongst the many owls, tawny, Eagle, and snowy?

His gaze slid towards a snowy owl which hooted soothingly at him. He was tempted to pick it based on the strong resemblance to Hedwig, but then he was met with the angry stare of the huge Eagle owl next to it that had flapped its wings at Harry and contemptuously turned its back.

His heart beating madly against his ribs, Harry made his choice based on his instincts. He stood on tiptoe and the owl grudgingly consented to step into his outstretched arm, talons gripping tightly the sleeve of his cloak.

Harry fished out a parchment from his robes and made quick work of attaching the letter around the claw of the Eagle owl, ducking his head now and then to avoid the owl's beak as it attempted to peck him.

Before he let go of the owl carrying his precious missive, Harry leaned down and whispered into the bird's ear, "Draco Malfoy, Hogwarts in our Eight Year, winter 1998."


	2. Underground

**Winter 1998**

"We can use the formulas we discussed last class for this case." Professor Vector waved her wand at the chalkboard, where a complex mix of spells and numbers appeared.

The door creaked open as Minerva McGonagall leaned her head into the classroom, coughing slightly.

"Headmistress?"

"Good day, Septima," McGonagall said. "I just want to remind your students about the owl gift exchange."

Draco let out a heartfelt groan which incurred McGonagall's censorious glare.

"It is mandatory for _all_ Eighth Year students, Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall said, her lips pursed in a thin line, and then she closed the door.

Draco nodded surly, cursing under his breath. Due to his abysmal luck, he might have the misfortune of having Zacharias Smith or Romilda Vane as partner. He shrugged and then scribbled a message on a piece of parchment which he folded into a neat bird, sending it flying to the front of the classroom.

Hermione was writing down the Arithmantic equations, her mouth pursed in concentration until she felt something nudging her shoulder. Looking up, she let out an exasperated sigh and picked up the insistent origami crane.

As she unfolded it, she muttered, "What does Malfoy want now?"

She scowled at the message. _'Granger, thanks for the Advanced Runes notes. Needed those since Potter dragged me into one of his escapades.'_

Shaking her head, Hermione glared down at her schoolbag. Obviously the protecting spells she had placed upon it were not enough to stop the inquisitive Slytherin, especially when he was working in cahoots with Harry. She cursed the day those two became fast friends. Instead of being a benign influence on each other as she had earnestly hoped, the two Seekers spurred each other to flights of folly like going to Hogsmeade in the middle of the night and, worst of all, skipping important classes!

Septima Vector walked towards the blackboard and pointed at a blank space between two rows of numbers, her burgundy pointy hat slightly askew. "What do we need to perfect this equation?"

Hermione's hand shot up in the air.

Professor Vector nodded at her. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"The rune Uruz, mind over matter, would give added power to the incantation." Hermione brushed a lock of hair off her forehead.

"Excellent insight, Miss Granger." Professor Vector flashed a grin at her. "Two points to Gryffindor."

As Septima went on to describe the way other branches of magic could be woven into Arithmantic calculations, Hermione smiled brightly. She picked up her quill and on the edge of her parchment wrote down Othila, the rune of hearth and home. Its squiggly shape, two straight lines reaching down left and right from a neat square, reminded her of the sturdy Underground sign high above the street where she took the tube to make the trip to her favorite bookshop in Charing Cross. It was a warm place of refuge, especially in winter when snow drenched the streets, and thus fitting for a small ward designed to safeguard her notes from grabby Slytherins!

After the Advanced Arithmantic class ended, Hermione hastily shoved her parchments, quill, and inkpot into her schoolbag and made her way out of the classroom, scowling at Draco's mop of blond hair which contrasted sharply next to Harry's unruly black locks. Malfoy's accomplice had obviously been waiting for him outside the door.

"Why do you two skip classes?" Hermione glared at them.

"Sorry, Hermione, Ron told me about this new pub in Hogsmeade." Harry scuffed his shoes on the stone floor, his hand brushing the nape of his neck.

"It's no big deal, Granger, your friend Potter just needed to unwind." Draco nudged his schoolbag as he flashed a smirk at Harry.

Hermione shook her head, but glancing at Harry's blushing cheeks, she noted the spark in his eyes which had been absent during the summer. She had to admit Harry appeared less haunted by his remembrances of the Final Battle when he was with Malfoy. Come to think of it, both Seekers did.

"I have to go to class. Just don't steal my notes next time," Hermione huffed and then started walking towards the stairs.

"I didn't steal them, it was just a loan," Draco called out to her retreating back.

The two wizards walked along the corridor, their faces shining by the light of the sconces.

"So tell me, Granger and Weasley are a couple yet?" Draco drawled.

"Nope, a stolen kiss now and then, but they mostly fidget around each other," Harry said, nudging up the rim of his glasses with his index finger.

"We need to get Granger off our backs," Draco muttered, his knuckles white around the straps of his schoolbag. "I'll set her up with Blaise."

"Zabini?" Harry scoffed as he stepped onto the moving stairs. "Are you barmy, Draco? Hermione would never agree to that."

"I can get them together if I set my mind to it. Do you want to place a bet?" Draco glanced at a portrait of a prancing unicorn which was chased by a knight, taking it as a favorable omen for his matchmaking plans.

"You're on!" Harry glanced at his watch. "Have to hurry up! I'm late for class."

"Whatever." Draco lazily waved his wand, and a sheaf of parchments flew from his schoolbag towards Harry's hand. "Those are the Runes notes you needed."

"Thanks, Draco. See you later." Harry waved the parchments at his friend as he stepped off the stairs and then dashed towards the end of the corridor.

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

Draco sighed as he made his way out of the Potions classroom, Blaise and Pansy by his side. The mood of the three Slytherins was subdued, since Horace Slughorn's beaming countenance as he demonstrated the effects of the potion they had been working on reminded them painfully of the absence of their former teacher, Severus Snape.

"So who did you get as partner in the owl gift exchange?" Draco drawled.

"I got Justin Finch-Fletchley," Pansy growled, clutching tightly the straps of her schoolbag.

"I take it you aren't pleased, my dear." Blaise arched his eyebrows at her.

"I didn't want a Hufflepuff," Pansy said angrily. "Even a Gryffindor would have been better!"

"Could be worse. At least you didn't get Smith," Draco said consolingly as he stepped onto the stairs.

"Thank Merlin for that," Pansy huffed, turning her head to glance at Blaise. "And who did you get?"

"Potter's friend, Weasley." Blaise brushed his fingers through his short-cropped hair. "What do I get him? I've only met him at wandpoint."

"I could help you with that," Draco said craftily, stepping onto the flagstone floor of the Entrance Hall. "You could trade with Lovegood, she got Granger."

"I find that quite amenable," Blaise mused, his gaze sliding towards the bird flying above the statues of the armored knights flanking the front door. "Who did you get, Draco?"

"I haven't received an owl yet," Draco grumbled.

"You're about to find out." Blaise nudged his elbow as the owl swooped down towards them, finally landing on Draco's shoulder.

Draco gazed at the big Eagle owl, whose magnificent feathers seemed to glimmer strangely in the winter light. Pale fingers fished out an owl treat from his pocket which he gave to the angry-looking bird.

He untied the message, fingers moving nimbly to evade the owl's beak. Draco winced from the pecking he couldn't evade completely, even though he was used to the irascible Malfoy owls.

"Go to the owlery and wait for a reply, Chronus," Draco said.

As the owl flew away, Blaise wiggled his eyebrows at him. "Chronus?"

"It's the name of a Greek god that devoured his children," Draco drawled, twiddling pale fingers which were splotched with red due to the owl's pecking. "It fits him."

Finally, grey eyes stared intently at the cryptic message.

* * *

><p><em>Draco Malfoy,<em>

_I'm writing this letter to reach you in these terrible times. Current troubles with Muggles have escaped the Ministry's grasp. Due to the untameable spread of information in this age, we cannot conceal our existence completely. There's only one way to solve this excruciating problem: strike at the source that will spring them forth, years hence from the moment you read this letter. _

_You must work together with your friends – including me – in order to thwart the development of the Cyclops company. If you fail to do this, the wizarding world will surely meet its doom._

_Minister of Magic  
>Harry Potter, London 2018<em>

* * *

><p>"So, is it good news?" Pansy smirked at him.<p>

"It's both good and bad news." Draco shrugged, walking towards the marble stairs that would take him to the First Floor. "Good news is that my partner is Harry, the bad news is that he's trying to pull a prank on me. Those Weasley twins must have rubbed off on him."

Pansy and Blaise exchanged a meaningful glance as Draco dashed up the stairs, mumbling under his breath. "Really, Harry, Minister of Magic? Just wait until I craft a reply."


	3. Christmas wreath

**Winter 2018**

Harry shuffled the parchments on his desk, only to push them away with the heels of his hands. He stood up, the hazy light from the windows limning his tousled hair as his fingers brushed the collar of his robes. He felt underdressed; truth to tell, he missed the comforting heft of his Auror robes. He should have declined the position of the Minister of Magic, but he allowed his friends and co-workers to pressure him into accepting.

Then again, after the situation with the Muggles turned ugly, the lower echelons at the Ministry of Magic turned to him like sunflowers towards the sun. Due to his Muggleborn upbringing, they expected him to possess the deft political touch that would extricate them all from the relentless Muggle scrutiny.

It was not be. Harry could not stench the flow of information that threatened their discovery. Magic proved powerless against curiosity and modern technology, it seemed. Perhaps dark magic would have provided the remedy, but to Harry's credit, he wouldn't entertain that thought at all. The only solution that seemed feasible was to correct the problem at the source, as he had written Draco in his letter.

He tilted down his chin to glance at his watch and let out a heartfelt sigh. Luna was late again. No doubt she had trouble making her way through London by traditional means. The Floo network had been shut down three months ago; they couldn't run the risk of Muggles intercepting their traffic.

He glanced towards the door at the shrill cries of his secretary.

"Mr. Potter! Please help!"

Harry dashed towards the door and opened it. Mrs. Havendish was brandishing a rolled-up _Daily Prophet_ at a bird perched on the hat rack. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he recognized the Eagle owl he had sent with his missive what felt like ages ago but was only a few days away.

"I'll take care of it, do not worry," Harry said in a low voice as he stepped towards the angry owl, whose feathers shimmered strangely in the evening light. Thankfully Mrs. Havendish was too busy fending off the irascible owl to notice that. Harry picked up a few owl treats from a bowl on the table and managed to distract the bird while he untied the string that held the crinkled parchment to its claw.

"Thank Merlin you tamed that beast," Mrs. Havendish huffed as she glanced at the hat rack.

"No problem at all." Looking up at the owl, Harry managed a weak smile as he said, "You can go to my house, if you know the way, or stay here for a while."

The owl hooted indignantly, huge yellow eyes seemingly glaring at Harry.

Harry shot the bird a fond grin as he made his way to the office. The owl's disgruntled disposition reminded him of Draco, which was the reason he chose it in the first place.

Shoving the door close with his back, he unrolled the parchment and glanced down to read the message.

_Harry,_

_It's nice to know that you're my partner in the owl gift exchange, though I would appreciate it if you lay off your infantile pranks. As for what you can get me, remember the little Hogsmeade store we visited last week?_

_That's enough of a hint, I think. _

_Supreme Mugwump Draco Malfoy, Hogwarts 2100_

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

Luna nudged the sleeve of her robes and stepped into Harry's office, smiling at the ever industrious Mrs. Havendish. She quirked an eyebrow at the muffled curses coming from inside Harry's office.

"Ms. Lovegood, the Minister is waiting for you." Mrs. Havendish waved at the door.

Luna stepped towards the hat rack and absently petted the owl, which hooted softly and preened its feathers. "I see Harry is not in a good mood."

"Indeed you could say that, Ms. Lovegood."

Luna strolled into the office to find Harry seated at his huge desk, ruffling his hair while he muttered under his breath.

"Sorry I'm late, but Muggle traffic was heavy."

"No problem, Luna." Harry gripped the parchment tightly. "Bloody Draco didn't believe me!"

"Is that…?" Luna cocked her chin at the parchment.

"His reply, yes," Harry said wearily. "Have to admit I didn't expect one and it took me quite by surprise. Anyway, Malfoy thinks I'm pulling a prank. That stubborn Slytherin thinks I'm part of the owl gift exchange! Can you believe that?" Harry balled up the parchment. "Bloody thickheaded blond!"

Luna sat on the plush chair on the other side of the desk and then leaned forward, drumming her fingers on the mahogany wood. "You could have sent the letter to Ron or Hermione, you know."

"It would have been worse." Harry nudged up his glasses with his thumb and slouched down on his comfortable leather chair. "If you remember, during those years Ron and Hermione were quite skeptical concerning most of my theories."

"Whereas Draco…" Luna trailed off, silvery grey eyes widening as she gazed at Harry.

"Draco took me seriously." Harry sighed wistfully. "He taunted me endlessly, but I was the center of his attention. In enmity and friendship, he always took me at face value."

"I see you took the logical course of action," Luna said dreamily.

"Not entirely; to be frank, I really miss him." Harry leaned forward, his fingertips tracing idle patterns on the whorls of the desk as his shoulders drooped. "Writing this letter felt like talking to him once more."

Luna sighed as her pale fingers patted Harry's wrist. "So write to him once more, convince him it's really you from his future."

"But how?" Harry gazed at her over the rim of his glasses.

"You know him well," Luna said with a shrug. "If I may use your own words, you always took him at face value."

"That is true," Harry mused, recalling his Fifth Year and the way he zealously stalked Draco to find out if he was the Half-Blood Prince, just like he had thought Malfoy was the Heir of Slytherin during Second Year.

"You just have to frame the letter in terms he understands," Luna said with a touch of practicality belying her dreamy nature. "You told me you addressed it during Eighth Year?"

"Yes, Draco and I had just become friends." Harry craned his neck to gaze at the ceiling, his eyes dimming in recollection. "It was a great term, despite our losses in the War. Things seemed boundless before…"

"Smith's interference." Luna scowled.

"That's true." Harry sighed. "Things were never the same afterwards."

Noting the way Harry's lips curved down in a sad grimace, Luna decided to improve Harry's mood. She said brightly, "I remember the owl gift exchange. The Headmistress organized it when we all decided to remain at Hogwarts during Christmas break."

"Many of us Eighth Years had lost friends or relatives in the Battle and didn't want to spend Christmas at home. McGonagall did her best to lift our spirits." The corner of his lips tilted up in a brief smile.

"I recall there was this huge Christmas wreath in the Gryffindor Common Room." Luna spread her arms. "Filled with gilded ornaments, pine cones, red cherries, and Gulping Pimplies of course."

"Of course," Harry flashed Luna a fond grin.

"You can write Draco about something that's going to happen," Luna said shrewdly. "He's bound to believe you then."

Harry's face lit up, but then his features perceptibly sagged.

"Why bother, though? The wizards at the Hall of Prophecies tell me time is immutable and it can't be changed. Time-Turners are useless after all." Harry's mouth twisted in a grimace of defeat. "That's why I sent the letter. Travelling in person creates paradoxes, they say, and I thought that sending pure information may be safe. But why should I bother if it is in vain?"

Harry glanced up at the sound of the doorknob turning. Mrs. Havendish leaned into the office, her hand reaching up to adjust her severe bun as she said, "Minister Potter, Mrs. Granger-Zabini just called to say she's going to be late for your meeting."

"That's fine, Claudia. When Hermione arrives, just usher her in."

"I will do so, Minister."

At the soft thudding sound of the door closing, Luna turned to Harry. "You have to have faith, Harry. Remember the Thestrals?"

Harry nodded.

"No one believed us when we said they were pulling the carriages. Nevertheless, they were always there, invisible to the eyes of most people. Faith is just like that."


	4. Hogsmeade Welcome sign

**Winter 1998**

"Bloody Zabini invited Hermione to Hogsmeade. What should I do, Harry?" Ron stood up from the Gryffindor table, hugging his schoolbag close to his body as he shot Harry an imploring look.

"What do you want to do, Ron?" Harry grabbed an apple from a bowl and stood up, his gaze sliding towards the stained-glass windows in front of him. They were almost completely repaired from the depredations of the war, only a few cracks remaining. They made the hall a bit cold, though, especially in winter. He snuggled into his Weasley scarf as he caught up with Ron.

"I'm not sure, mate," Ron said slowly. "I'm trying to give Mione space by not pressuring her, you know?"

"Perhaps too much space; you should make your intentions perfectly clear." Harry paused on the threshold and swiveled his chin to look at the Slytherin table, taking at a glance the lack of a characteristic mop of blond hair. It meant Draco was probably at their secret meeting place, an abandoned classroom in the second floor.

"You might be right, but I thought she wanted time to explore the world and do stuff." Ron stepped into the Entrance Hall, a stray sunbeam falling on his hair. He glanced up and muttered under his breath, "Malfoy's here."

Sure enough, Draco sauntered towards them, the sun striking silver sparks off his hair as he flashed his trademark smirk at Harry.

"Good day, Ministers Potter and Weasley. Here on Ministry business, I suppose," he drawled, snatching the apple out of Harry's hands."Give it here, I'm hungry."

"What are you on about, Draco? You stole my snack," Harry huffed, crossing his arms while Ron rolled his eyes and walked away.

"You're taking the piss as usual, Malfoy," Ron growled, his anger subsiding when he noticed Harry's shy smile from the corners of his eyes. He shook his head, forced to admit for the umpteenth time that Harry seemed livelier around the pesky Slytherin.

"Hate to leave you with this smug git, Harry, but I'm late for Advanced Charms as it is," Ron called over his shoulder as he stepped away.

Draco carefully pocketed the purloined apple as he reclined lazily against the wall, and then wiggled his eyebrows at Harry. "You are too trusting, Harry. If you're hungry, I bought an extra bag of Chocolate Frogs; it's in our hideaway."

"Fine, I could use one after classes." Harry grudgingly conceded the theft, not without shooting Draco a glare.

"Weasley seems flustered," Draco said nonchalantly and then stuck his hands in the pockets of his robes.

"Because of your crazed matchmaking schemes." Harry nudged the rim of his glasses and started walking towards the marble stairs.

"I'm good at this. I got Ginevra and Thomas together again," Draco said, the corners of his lips twisting in a smug smirk. He had to admit he breathed more easily these days without the unseemly sight of the youngest Weasley rubbing her paws all over Harry's toned body.

Draco sighed. Unfortunately, Harry was entirely oblivious in these matters.

"That's the trouble," Harry scoffed. "Your Slytherin cunning makes you too effective."

"We should make things more interesting." Draco took long strides to catch up with Harry, his fingers brushing the leather straps of his schoolbag. "And throw Longbottom into the mix."

"Are you barmy?" Harry glanced at his watch and took the stairs at a trot, realizing he was running a little late for the class of Magical Theory. He wanted to make sure he would make it on time; nowadays the castle had the tendency to rearrange the stairs so they ended up in the strangest places. McGonagall assured him it was a consequence of the Battle.

Glancing back at Draco's satisfied sneer, Harry shook his head. "Just as long as you realize that if Hermione ever finds out, it'll be your head on the line."

"Unfortunately, Minister Potter, you make a pretty good point." Draco easily kept pace with Harry. He raised his hand to his face, unconsciously rubbing the spot on his cheek where Hermione had hit him hard. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you if you are free tomorrow."

"Hogsmeade?" Harry took the left corridor and waved at him. "Sure."

"There's that neat store that sells Quidditch apparel." Draco wiggled his eyebrows. "If you catch my meaning."

"See you after class." Harry walked away, shaking his head at the antics of his Slytherin friend.

Draco took the corridor to the right, his schoolbag swinging back and forth as he touched the bumps in it, trying to remember if he had put the Advances Runes textbook.

He was quite shocked at the sight of the sinister shadow looming straight ahead. It wasn't Peeves or any of the ghosts for sure, rather something solid whose edges glimmered by the scant light of the sconces.

The aggrieved hooting sounds eased his mind a bit, and he breathed a sigh of relief when a large sconce illuminated the markings of the Eagle owl he knew well.

He fished out his wand and several owl treats from his pocket to have them ready, and then the bird swooped down, his claws gripping tightly Draco's shoulder.

"Here, Chronus." Draco gave the treats to the owl one at a time while he swished his wand, in order to untie the parchment tied around the claw.

Hooting softly in satisfaction, Chronus spread his wings, his presence a comforting weight on Draco's shoulders as he smoothed the rolled-up parchment and tilted down his chin, his brow furrowing in a scowl as he read the entire message.

* * *

><p><em>Malfoy,<em>

_I wish I could throttle your thin Slytherin neck, you know. Should've known you were as stubborn as always. Supreme Mugwump, really? You prat!_

_Reckon you want proof. Should've remembered, seeing how you were always teasing me about my trusting ways. Anyway, here it is: in keeping with the tradition Dumbledore started, this year one of our teachers __will turn__ out to be a former Death Eater. Either Runes or Advanced Runes, it was so long ago you'll excuse me if I don't remember exactly which one._

_And no, I wasn't the one who caught him, it was McGonagall herself. Have to admire her ingenuity. She used that spell on the armors to imprison the wizard._

_The core message remains the same, though, you have to stop Cyclops. That's the name of a corporation that sells software and technology. The thing is, it is especially designed to detect our magical patterns. We know it was started by a wizard, but unfortunately there are lots of lost records and we don't know the name. _

_I have to conclude with a warning. Remember the time I told you about Ron and I sneaking into your Common Room in 2__nd__ Year? Remember Fake Mad-Eye Moody? Never trust the evidence of your eyes, especially where Zacharias Smith is concerned, and certainly not in Hogsmeade._

_Have to go now. Take care, Draco._

_As always, your Harry_

* * *

><p>The irascible owl pecked his head lightly, and he cocked his chin towards the window. "Go to the owlery, Chronus. I'll see you later."<p>

The owl flapped his wings and took off, hooting softly with a hint of concern.

Lost in thought, Draco hunched his shoulders as he walked the rest of the way to the classroom. It was the sound of whispering ahead of him that alerted Draco to the fact something was wrong.

Draco headed straight towards Hermione, keen grey eyes noting the way Zacharias Smith sneered at him.

Deciding to ignore the blond prat, he stopped in front of Hermione. He couldn't help but notice the way her face was scrunched up as she glared at the door of the classroom.

"What's the matter, Granger?"

"I can't believe it!" she said in a high voice, clutching her voluminous schoolbag close to her chest. "We are going to lose valuable classes again! After all the trouble we went through during the Battle, I thought we were safe from these untoward intrusions!"

"I'm not following you, Hermione," Draco said patiently.

Hermione glanced at him, her hand toying with a strand of her hair. "You haven't heard? I guess you were with Harry, planning mischief!"

"What happened?" Draco thrust his chin at the door. "Where's Professor Royston?"

"Agrippa Royston turned out to be a Death Eater!" Hermione said agitatedly. "The Headmistress heard him during a Floo call, and she caught him red-handed."

"A Death Eater?" Draco's eyes widened in surprise.

"And just when we were about to review the Elder Futhark!" Hermione's shoulders drooped as she tilted down her chin, her thick locks forming a curtain around her face. She mumbled low under her breath, "McGonagall's spellwork is amazing, though. I have to learn the incantation to animate the armor knights!"

Draco raised his hand to splay his fingers on his chest over the pocket with Harry's missive. He felt his heart beating madly as he realized the import of its contents. This was truly a communication from Harry, twenty years hence.

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

"Kneazle got your tongue, Draco?" Harry said as he stepped over the rails as they were approaching the entrance to Hogsmeade. His eyes narrowed as he stared at Draco's imposing figure, clad in a black coat that hugged his shoulders and tapered to his slim waist, his platinum blond hair shimmering in the morning light.

"I'm a tad distracted," Draco said absently.

"You didn't sneer at Ron's plans of wooing Hermione, or Luna's headgear when she passed us on the way." Harry cocked his chin towards the woods they had left behind.

Draco sighed and stuck his hands in his pockets, glancing at Harry's leather jacket, nicely complimented by his smart trousers. "What can I say? You'll note I didn't poke fun at your Muggle clothing. I'm in a tolerant mood today."

"I was thinking about visiting the Quidditch store you mentioned." Harry arched his eyebrows at him and stopped below an arch.

Draco took at a glance Harry's grin, framed by his trademark tousled hair, his glance sliding towards the welcome sign made of wrought iron that hung just below the arch. It depicted the comforting silhouette of the roofs dotting High Street, together with the hog that gave its name to Aberforth Dumbledore's inn in the wizarding town.

Draco squared his shoulders and shot Harry a weak grin as he stepped towards the Gryffindor and clapped his shoulder. He lifted his arm and pointed at the cobbled street.

"Let's have a good time today, Harry."


	5. Roasted chestnuts

_**Warning: **NC-17_

* * *

><p><strong>Winter 1998<strong>

Harry cupped his hand around the warm goblet filled with mulled mead, his nostrils flaring as he enjoyed the sharp aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg. As he leaned down to sip his drink, he glanced at the mirror on the wall of the Three Broomsticks, where he could see the reflection of his tousled head next to Draco's blond hair.

"Reminds you of something?" Harry cocked his head at the wall and Draco turned his back to glance at the mirror.

"Not really; it's only us." Draco narrowed his eyes at his reflection. He raised one hand to tuck a stray lock of blond hair that ruined the symmetry of his hairdo. After all, he had spent 20 minutes trying to get it just right for his outing with Harry.

"Remember Madam Malkin's?" Harry glanced at him over the rim of his goblet.

"I certainly do," Draco said ruefully as he raised his drink, the hot mead nearly scalding his tongue. Then he lowered the goblet, his fingertips brushing the rim as he recalled that encounter so many years ago. "I'm afraid I didn't leave you with a good impression."

"You certainly didn't." Harry chuckled to take the sting off his words and reclined on his chair. "You were rude and opinionated."

"Your famous Gryffindor frankness in action," Draco mumbled to himself before he took a long sip of his mulled mead.

"You were honest, though," Harry said. "And you've mentioned you didn't know I was…"

"The Boy-Who-Lived." Draco wiggled his eyebrows at him. "From the stories I heard growing up, I expected you to be big and powerful, not the scrawny boy I met at Malkin's."

"Would you have behaved differently, if you knew…?"

"You were Harry Potter?" Draco puzzled his eyebrows, his gaze straying towards the street where he could see the flickering flames of a street vendor roasting his wares.

Harry nodded slowly, his body lulled by the warmth of the room, the quiet whispers of the conversations on the other tables, and the way the light fell on Draco's hair. This was part of the imagery that comforted him during those long days of their travail in the woods as he and his friends sought to destroy the Horcruxes. The promise of a quiet peace and the coziness of a world rid of Voldemort's foul magic.

"I would've sought to create a better impression. Try harder to become your friend." Draco shrugged and then he said wistfully, "Who knows what we would have done together? Would've saved a lot of heartache."

Harry waved the goblet to indicate the bustling room. "And yet we end up right where we belong; having a relaxing day in Hogsmeade together. Perhaps it was fated to be."

Draco swiveled his chin to gaze at their reflections, wondering about the strange turn of events involving the missive from future Harry. Fate certainly had the knack of pushing them towards events beyond their control. Why had the future version of Harry written him the letters? He seemed to know Draco very well, but why not Weasley or Granger? Had future Harry lost touch with them, losing them somehow?

Draco's brow furrowed as he recalled the wording of the letter. It urged him to work together with his friends in solving the mystery.

"Could you arrange for Granger and Weasley to meet us?" Draco raised his hand, fingertips brushing against his pocket. "There's something we need to discuss."

"Sure, I'll tell them to meet us in our usual room," Harry said.

A wizard opened the door and stepped into the Three Broomsticks, and the scent of roasted chestnuts drifted towards them.

Harry turned his back to look at the door and then he stood up, fishing two Galleons out of his pocket which he put down on the table with a thudding sound. "Come on, Draco, you've got to have some roasted chestnuts."

"Potter, it's cold outside!" Draco was comfortable in the warm room, he didn't want to face the cold weather outside, but Harry tugged on his hand insistently, and the way his green eyes sparkled with enthusiasm was too much for the Slytherin to resist. He grudgingly allowed himself to be pulled up and went out with Harry.

The two wizards crossed High Street and bought the chestnuts. The vendor, an aged wizard with a weather-beaten face, smiled at them as he wrapped the food in cones made with old editions of the Daily Prophet.

Draco took out the required amount of Sickles and paid the wizard. The two Hogwarts students trudged in the snow along High Street, bodies gravitating toward each other while nimble fingers easily peeled off the shells as they ate the chestnuts.

"They're fine," Harry said between bites. "Not chewy at all."

"Nice treat." Draco nodded, his fingers brushing Harry's hand as they made their way to Scrivenshaft's.

As they were passing the Post Office, Harry shivered unconsciously, an odd sensation travelling up his spine that resembled déjà-vu. He walked faster and then glanced towards Honeydukes, noticing Ron's distinctive mop of red hair. Harry really wanted to know what had transpired during his date with Hermione, so he patted Draco's shoulder and cocked his chin at Honeydukes, "Ron's in there; I'll arrange a meeting with him and Hermione. After you buy your quills, why don't you meet me at the Shrieking Shack? It shouldn't take long."

"That's fine, Harry."

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

Draco was making his way back, shoulders hunched as he burrowed into his coat in the cold day. He glanced up at the bright light coming from the Three Broomsticks and then took the street to his right, intent on getting to the Shrieking Shack as fast as he could.

As he was passing in front of a house, the sounds coming from within gave him pause. He heard whimpers and moans, but he could swear he recognized Harry's distinctive voice. He stepped towards the brick wall and leaned against a window.

"Fuck me harder, harder." The muffled voice coming from within sounded exactly like Harry.

Draco stood on tiptoe and peered through the frosted glass. There was a huge four-poster bed inside the room, illuminated by several sconces. Draco cleared the frost with the sleeve of his cloak and leaned closer, the sight inside punching a grunt out of his throat.

Two wizards were on the bed in which tanned, fit limbs writhed around a pasty man. He glared, recognizing Zacharias Smith's strawberry blond hair. Fury made his heart beat madly when Draco could no longer deny the evidence of his senses; it was Harry underneath that despicable git. Draco gulped around the lump in his throat, his traitorous arousal throbbing against his trousers at the sight of Smith's cock thrusting in and out of Harry's welcoming body.

Draco angrily wiped the cold wetness on his cheeks with the back of his gloved hand and turned away, stomping furiously on the snow. He hunched down his shoulders, the pain in his heart making it difficult to breathe the winter air. He felt betrayed because he and Harry had shared many secrets in this school term, and Potter never confided in him about his sexuality.

If he had been privy to that information, Draco certainly would have seized the opportunity. It was all he could do not to pounce on Harry, but he dared not alienate the friendship he had labored so hard to forge with the Gryffindor. It had been daunting to approach Harry at the beginning of term and strike a tentative truce which led to their discovering each other. Draco didn't possess the Gryffindor daring to broach the issue of his sexuality, and he chastised himself for forgetting Harry was a true Gryffindor. Obviously he had seized the chance with Smith, leaving Draco behind as was his wont, repeating the awful pattern that had been established year after year during their Hogwarts careers.

As he looked ahead at the Three Broomsticks, Draco frowned as he wondered why there were so many sconces in the room. They certainly weren't necessary given that it was broad daylight. The bloody bedroom was as brightly lit as the Three Broomsticks!

There was something wrong in Harry being alone, too. Weasley and Granger should be hovering around him, wanting to know the reasons for their impromptu meeting. Draco raised his hand, fingers brushing against the pocket which held the letter from the future. The other Harry had warned him about Smith's nefarious intentions, mentioning those instances in the past which involved Polyjuice.

Squaring his shoulders, Draco turned back and returned to the accursed house, peering inside at the lovemaking couple. If it was Polyjuice, the effects would wear out soon.

Draco tapped his boot against the piling snow as he cast Disillusionment and Warming Charms on himself. To distract himself from the hypnotizing movement of the impostor's tanned limbs as the two wizards uncoupled, Draco mentally prepared the most difficult potion Severus taught him.

He was picturing himself stirring the potion 23 times clockwise as the impostor put on his clothes, and then, as snowflakes fell continuously around the silent figure of the Slytherin, Draco witnessed the transformation.

The impostor shrank in size as black hair grew into long locks, the features softening as the face of Romilda Vane was fully disclosed to Draco's angry gaze.


	6. Nutcracker

**Winter 2018**

Harry glanced at the sheaf of parchments on his desk, his fingers creeping upward to rub circles on his forehead. Reading and collating the information from the alarming reports coming in from all parts of the wizarding world was a hard chore. He had deputies to pour over the incidents with the Muggles, but he was keen on perusing the first-hand accounts reported by Unspeakables and Aurors on the field. He was convinced he just might find a missing part of the puzzle, the key to break the impasse with the relentless Muggle surveillance. His fingers smoothing the topmost parchment, Harry sighed as he tilted down his chin and tried to read despite his headache.

After all, one of these humble reports had led to his discovery of the strange abilities of owls flying through the wards around Hogwarts.

He looked up at a soft knocking sound and a moment later Mrs. Havendish pushed open the door.

"Ms. Granger-Weasley called to say she will be late, Minister Potter, and the Head Auror is here to see you," she said, her lips pursed in a prim line.

"Send him in!" Harry waved at her and leaned his back on the leather chair.

The Head Auror stepped inside and Harry jerked his chin at the chair on the other side of his desk, green eyes drinking the sight of the striking figure whose broad shoulders were outlined by the Auror cloak.

The Head Auror disregarded the subtle offer and sauntered towards him, slim hips brushing the edge of the mahogany desk.

"You've been working too hard, Potter," Draco scoffed, pale fingers shoving away the parchments before they flitted towards Harry's brow, fingertips smoothly gliding in circles as Draco gently massaged his forehead.

"I have to do it." Harry closed his eyes and let out a sigh, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled the woody, musky scent he knew so well.

"I know," Draco huffed. "Just don't work yourself to death; I'd hate to lose my husband this way."

"Any good news?" Harry snuggled into his chair and tipped up his neck, gazing at blurry silver hair over the rim of his glasses.

"I'm afraid not. Like many wizards, Mother and Father had to abandon their home; the Manor wards couldn't deter the Muggle Army." Draco's fingertips brushed against his scar, eliciting a heartfelt groan from Harry. No matter how many years had passed since the wedding, Draco's touch always soothed him.

Harry slouched down in his chair, grimacing at the thought of Narcissa and Lucius camping in their London house. "I guess they arrived already?"

"Do not fret, Harry," Draco drawled. "They are in their Mayfair flat."

Harry let out a sigh of relief.

Draco traced a path down Harry's brow, pale fingers caressing the few wrinkles in the planes of his handsome face before they started to knead softly the tight muscles of his shoulders.

"Binny cooking, alright?" Draco said.

Harry shook his head. He wasn't in the mood for the elaborate French cuisine their crazed house-elf always cooked. "Chinese?"

"Today's special, so let's order Thai." Draco leaned down to brush his lips against the tousled hair, grey eyes zeroing in on the photo of their wedding. A younger version of Harry waved awkwardly at him from the silver-gilt frame, while Draco's own image shot him a smug smirk.

Draco bent his waist to whisper in his ear, "Did you forget, Harry?"

He shivered as Draco's breath tickled his ear. That silky voice could turn threatening in an instant if he dared to forget their anniversary, a transformation Harry was painfully aware of.

"I didn't. I even brought Mousy to remind me." Harry sat up on his chair and cocked his chin at the nutcracker on the edge of the desk. It was a neat mouse figure clad in a red jacket which had green sleeves and crown, with silver sash and star, tufts of grey hair adorning its head and chin.

"Good," Draco sighed contentedly, leaning his chin on the top of Harry's head. "Your gift awaits at home. Had loads of trouble keeping it from Binny, just so you know; she has the abominable tendency of blurting out everything to you."

At the sound of the doorknob turning, Draco stood ramrod straight while Harry sighed at the loss of the comforting touch of his husband.

Hermione ambled into the office, the collar of her coat pulled up against the cold. She nodded at Harry and Draco and sat on the chair, her hand heaving up a Muggle briefcase which she placed on the desk, pulling her wand to cast the spell that would open it.

"I've designed new wards," she said briskly as she took out a bulging folder and spread it open on the desk. Harry eyed warily the strange symbols that crowded the onionskin papers.

"Do you think it will be enough, Hermione?" Draco walked towards her and sat on the edge of the desk, leaning down to peer at the squiggly shapes of the Nordic runes.

"For a few days, a week at the most," Hermione said tiredly, her hand brushing aside a lock of her hair which felt stringy to her fingertips. With all the research she had to pull lately, she didn't have enough time to care adequately for it.

"It's quite frustrating," she said. "Their software adapts to the new magical pattern too easily! They're always a step ahead of us."

"Which is the reason I sent the letters," Harry said firmly. "If we can't fight them in the present because they seem omniscient, the past is our only refuge."

Hermione tilted her chin to look at Draco. "You used similar words in the Shrieking Shack when you told us about the letters, remember?"

"I remember; it was when Harry gave me this." Draco's slim fingers picked up the nutcracker.

Hermione shot Harry a weak smile and then she frowned. "Luna showed up later, didn't she? She said something strange."

Harry furrowed his brow in thought. "I don't recall that, but then it's been twenty years."

"And you two were too lost in each other to notice anything," Hermione flashed them a brief grin. "But Luna's words…"

"You think they are important?" Draco arched his eyebrow at her.

"They are on the tip of my tongue," she said in an aggravated tone. "Maybe I'll remember later."

Draco thrust his chin at the cabinet on the corner. "We could use Harry's Pensieve."

"That's a good idea." She nodded.

Harry stood up and took long strides towards the cabinet. He opened it and then took out his wand, swishing it at the Pensieve so it floated towards the desk, settling down with a small thudding sound.

"Allow me, Harry." Draco fished out his wand from his pocket and jabbed it towards his forehead, a thin silvery strand slowly separating from his blond hair. Draco swiveled his wrist and directed the memory towards the brimming liquid inside the bowl.

Hermione stood up, her fingers lightly touching the runes that decorated the rim of the ornate Pensieve.

The three of them glanced at each other before they lowered their torsos, and then they proceeded to immerse themselves in the past.

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

"It reminds me of you," Harry shot Draco his irrepressible grin as he gave him his gift. "Found it tucked away in a corner of the shop you mentioned the other day."

"A measly mouse, Potter?" Draco closed his fist around the nutcracker, its grey hair and beard seemingly mocking him in the dim light filtering through the boarded window of the Shrieking Shack.

Draco glanced at Harry's flushed cheeks, noting the spark in those green eyes and the way his hair was ruffled even more than usual due to the cold wind outside the Shack. He flashed a grin at Harry, thankful for the fact he hadn't believed the evidence of his own eyes and chose to trust Harry, instead of the conniving Smith prat and the impostor Romilda.

"The colors symbolize us, you prat!" Harry thwacked Draco's arm. "Gryffindor red and Slytherin green, and the paint is almost the same shade as your eyes."

Ron rolled his eyes and then he crossed his arms. "Be thankful it wasn't a ferret!"

Draco shot Ron a glare as he pocketed Harry's gift. "Potter, remind me to buy a weasel nutcracker for Weasel."

"Ferret," mumbled Ron.

"Weasel," muttered Draco.

"Ok, that's enough, you two!" Hermione swatted Ron's arm.

Draco shot Ron a meaningful glance, and both of them shrugged at the same time. Obviously Hermione still wasn't used to their bantering.

She took out her wand and cast a cleaning charm on the dusty sofa before she sat down. "Since we're together, what is it you wanted to talk about?"

Draco unbuttoned his cloak and fished out the crinkled letters which he gave to Hermione. Then he explained in detail the circumstances surrounding the two missives from the future.

After he finished the story, Hermione nodded slowly, her fingers brushing the parchment. "It makes sense. You weren't surprised at the news of the Death Eater teacher nor did you fly into a panic about Harry."

"What about me?" Harry reached his hand for the letters, which he read intently.

"Let's say that Draco here has been very concerned about your welfare lately," Hermione said slowly.

"Granger, you are exaggerating." Draco narrowed his eyes at the smug smirk that adorned Harry's face.

"It's definitely my handwriting." Harry's fingers tapped the parchment. "But why would I write a letter and send it to the past?"

"It makes sense." Draco shrugged, sitting on the arm of the sofa. "It seems they – I mean us – are in a tight spot. They must've run out of options, and from the contents of the letters, the Muggles are closing in on them from all sides." He took a deep breath, saying in a voice tinged with regret, "Sometimes the present is inexorable, and you find your only refuge lies within the past."

At the sight of Draco's handsome visage filled with sadness, Harry walked up to his new boyfriend and draped his arm on his shoulder. "We'll help them any way we can, won't we?"

"Certainly, mate," Ron said, trying to show his support for his best friend, even if he got together with Malfoy, by doing what he had always done – stand by Harry's side.

"The first letter says a wizard is involved in that company," Hermione mused. "But since it's about software, it must be a Muggleborn."

"So let's compile a list of all Muggleborn students at Hogwarts," Harry said.

The four students heard a creaking sound coming from the entrance. Draco unconsciously fingered his wand, hoping it wasn't that prat Smith coming to gloat about Harry. If and when he did, Draco intended to curse him silly. He breathed a sigh of relief when Luna Lovegood walked towards them, a thick fur hat on her head which reminded him of the one he used to have.

"Sorry," Luna said. "I came to see if the secret passage has been cleaned up. It's the only safe way, since Nargles have decided to descend on Hogsmeade. Must be the Christmas cheer they're seeking."

Draco exchanged a glance with Harry, and at his nod of assent, decided to confide in Luna. Perhaps her quirky viewpoint would provide them with additional ideas.

The snow continued to fall outside and the wind rattled the windows while Draco explained their predicament.

Afterwards, Ron huffed, pointing at himself and Hermione. "Even hearing it again, I can't quite wrap my head around the fact that Harry would contact Malfoy and not us!"

"I'm not that surprised." Luna nodded sagely. "Harry and Draco share a connection."

"A connection?" Harry said tentatively.

"It's like two sea stacks on the beach." Luna walked to the sofa and sat beside Hermione, her eyes widening as she peered at the two Seekers, who appeared to shimmer in and out of focus in the penumbra of the evening light. "At first glance they stand apart, seemingly very lonely, but when the tide ebbs you can see there's a strip of land connecting them."

"So you're saying that…" Hermione trailed off, lost in thought.

"You've been pulled apart by circumstances, but you've managed to find the way back to each other." Luna's fingers brushed the soft vellum of the parchment. "There's a tide of magic that joins you, just like this letter shows that the ebb and flow of time may be circumvented."


	7. Puppy with Santa hat

**Winter 1998**

"Do you really believe we're connected?" Draco's gaze darted towards Luna, his hand sliding seamlessly into Harry's, knuckles rubbing against calloused fingers.

"I certainly do," Luna said firmly. "And I believe we will solve this problem."

"Where do we start, though? With Voldemort, we knew exactly what he was and we had an inkling about his plans." Hermione glanced up at Harry, cocking her chin at the letters. Harry stepped towards the sofa and handed them over.

Then Hermione tilted her chin, her gaze drawn to her boyfriend, with whom she exchanged a meaningful glance. They had managed to puzzle together the location of the Horcruxes based on minimal clues, but how could they prevent something that hadn't happened yet when they had no idea who was behind it?

Ron started pacing to and fro, his footsteps drawing a long sickle in the dusty floor. "So what does that Muggle thing do?"

"The letters imply it is a technology to track magic." Harry shrugged. "They must have perfected software to detect it."

"We already have something quite similar," Hermione mused. "The Priori Incantatem spell."

"The Priori is powered by magic," Draco pointed out. "How can the Muggles duplicate the effect?"

"Perhaps after a spell there's a residue, a physical trace or even some kind of exotic wavelength they could follow." Hermione stood up and went to the window, staring at the snowy landscape outside. "Something akin to X-rays that will be discovered in the future."

"What's X-rays?" Ron arched his eyebrow at her.

"I'll tell you later," Hermione said.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Harry frowned, raising his hand to rub the nape of his neck. "Take out the bloke ourselves? Under what pretext?"

"Let's think logically," Draco drawled. "This wizard…"

"It could be a witch, too," Luna said.

"Whatever." Draco conceded. "Anyway, the individual or group behind this company must have steered developments in such a way that at the end, the result would be the detection or annihilation of the wizarding world."

"I believe that's correct," Hermione said. "But we don't know who they are."

"We can try to guess their motives, though," Harry said. "They must hate wizards, or they will grow to hate the wizarding world in the future and thus they'll try to get rid of it."

"Could it be another Voldemort?" Ron said.

"I doubt the motivations are the same." Draco scowled at the gloom enveloping the parlor as he recalled the hateful weeks he spent with Voldemort's retinue. "The Dark Lord never intended to get rid of magic itself; he hated people who couldn't do magic."

"But the mindset should be similar." Luna raised her fingers to cup her chin as she stared at the shadows looming in the decrepit Shrieking Shack.

"Exactly, someone who's dark and obsessed about doing away with their enemies," Harry said firmly, his fist striking his open palm.

Ron snickered, holding up his hand to forestall their questions. "Sorry, mate, but that description fits you and Malfoy!"

"You're barmy, Weasley!" Draco glared at Ron.

Harry smiled wryly. He would readily concede that he had been obsessed with Draco for a long time, but his feelings were fueled by lust, not dark magic.

"Draco and Harry never intended to do away with each other." Luna pointed out, her gaze seeking Harry. "In fact, from what you've told me, Draco contributed to saving your life at key points. And as for you…"

"Harry saved Malfoy from the Fiendfyre. Nevertheless, Ron, your comparison brings an interesting angle." Hermione tilted down her chin and gazed at the parchment. "What if this person seeks revenge for personal reasons and starts the ball rolling which ends in Cyclops?"

Luna walked towards the window and gazed at the darkening sky. "It would be better if we make our way back. It'll be dark soon; thankfully the Nargles must be gone by now."

"Ok, let's go back. I'll compile a list of Muggleborns." Hermione said firmly. "I will also research wards and how they may be perfected."

"I'm taking Advanced Runes with you," Draco pointed out. "If you need someone to bounce ideas off of, I'm available."

"Thanks, Malfoy." Hermione nodded at him, and then she said through gritted teeth. "The professor would have been a good source of information, but he turned out to be a Death Eater!"

"Do you think that man could be the one behind Cyclops?" Harry said.

"Not really." Luna walked towards the door, calling over her shoulder. "We're talking about a timeframe of twenty years. It must be a young person."

"And they will grow into their position of power as time goes by," Hermione stood up and pulled up the collar of her coat, sticking her hands in her pockets.

The students made their way out of the Shrieking Shack, snuggling into their coats as dusk approached.

Ron and Hermione trudged on the snow, Luna by their side. Draco and Harry walked a few paces behind, huddling together and seeking warmth. As they were passing in front of the Three Broomsticks, a barking sound from within made them pause.

Harry leaned into the windowpane and cleaned the frost with his elbow.

"Oi, Draco, take a look!"

Draco leaned over Harry, his chin resting on Harry's tousled hair as he peered inside. On the nearest table there was a puppy wearing a Santa hat.

"That's cute!" Harry said.

"Indeed, but I prefer Crups," Draco scoffed.

"Oh."

Noticing Harry's crestfallen expression, Draco hastened to make amends. "Doesn't matter though. I'd love to watch you play with a puppy."

Harry craned his neck and shot Draco a blinding smile, his cheeks tinted red by the slanted light of the dying sun.


	8. Christmas cookies

**Winter 1998**

Harry raised the goblet to his lips, the sweet aroma of mulled wine drifting to his nostrils as his gaze floated towards the silver speck in the Slytherin table. His contemplation of his boyfriend was interrupted by Hermione, who waved a parchment in front of him.

"This is the list of all Muggleborns at Hogwarts from 1991 to the present," she said briskly, her eyes following Harry's gaze.

"That's good." Harry lowered his goblet and grabbed his fork, absently stabbing a slice of cake.

"You might want to peruse it after you've finished visually mauling Malfoy," she said patiently.

"Sorry, I was woolgathering." Harry ducked his head, an ebony lock hiding his scar.

"Mione, can you lend me your Charms book?" Ron said, glancing mournfully at the last piece of cake on his plate.

"Sure, I'll give it to you after our meeting with Malfoy and Luna. You should've finished homework last night!"

"But I did, it's just…"

Harry tuned out the usual argument between his best friends and tucked in, devouring the cake with a few stabbing motions of his fork. At a sudden tug on his robes, he dropped his gaze to see a house-elf bowing profusely.

"We cooked something special for Master Harry."

The sweet aroma from the treats on the plate proffered by the elf drifted up to his nose. Harry tilted his chin to glance at the cookies, shaped in the form of Christmas trees.

Recognizing the crisscrossing pattern on the tea towel the house-elf wore, his lips tugged upward in a smile. "That's very thoughtful of you, Kloby."

"Only the best for Master Harry!" Kloby bowed his head and took a step backward before he disappeared with a loud popping sound.

Harry chose the red cookies for himself and wrapped the green ones on a napkin, intending to give them to Draco as peace offering. He had been too busy brainstorming with his friends to remember Draco was waiting for him in their secret room.

Harry stood up, shaking his head at the thought that the elaborate prank they had devised would remain unrealized. His hand patting the comforting bulge made by the cookies in his pocket, he walked briskly towards the door, a few steps behind Ron and Hermione.

Luna joined the group unobtrusively, greeting them with a nod.

Narrowing his eyes at Luna's legs, he noted she only had one shoe. Harry cocked his eyebrows. "I guess they're hiding your shoes again, huh?"

Luna's fingers brushed her hair as she shrugged imperceptibly. "It's no problem, the Nargles lead me to them," adding in a dreamy voice. "Besides, Draco promised he'd punish them."

Harry sensed someone hovering behind him. He turned his back and glanced at Zacharias Smith, who offered him a small smile.

"Harry, I was thinking that…" Smith bit his bottom lip, obviously gathering courage before he took the plunge and said in a rush, "You and I could go to Hogsmeade together next Saturday."

Ron snorted, his fingers toying with his fringe before he said, "Good luck with that, Smith. I hear that Malfoy is jealous."

"What do you mean?" Smith positively glowered at Ron's retreating back.

"It means Draco and I will go to Hogsmeade together," Harry said impatiently, taking longer strides to keep up with the others, who had been joined by Draco.

W...what?" Smith spluttered as red blotches appeared on his face. "But I thought that…"

"You thought precisely what, Smith?" Draco stepped towards them, casually fingering his wand.

"You and Harry?" Smith's eyes widened at the way Draco draped his arm around Harry's shoulders.

"It's none of your business," Draco said curtly, his wand pointing at the door. "Your face looks uglier than usual, dear Smith. You had better go to the Infirmary unless you want to end up looking like Vane."

"What happened to her?" Harry said.

"Came down with a nasty case of boils." Draco shot Smith a furious glare. "I hear it's contagious."

Smith paled, the splotches on his face appearing seemingly larger than a moment before, and then he dashed away.

"Nice use of Bulbadox powder." Luna turned her back, silvery grey eyes looking sharply at Draco. "Pity the Infirmary has run out of wartcap powder to cure the boils."

"How did you know?" Draco hissed through his teeth.

"A Nargle told me," Luna said cryptically as she took the stairs.

"You should be an Auror, Lovegood." Draco's voice held a hint of condescension.

Meanwhile, Harry raised his eyebrows at the retreating figure of the Hufflepuff scurrying away and he let out a patient sigh. "Are you going to tell me what that was all about?"

"After the meeting, Potter." Draco smirked, the usual gesture tinged with a hint of lust that made Harry's cheeks bloom. "And don't think I've forgotten you stood me up."

Harry lifted his hand and Draco took the napkin, his nostrils flaring slightly at the delicious aroma from the Christmas treats. He unwrapped the cookies, grey eyes widening at the sight as he licked his lips.

"Quite Slytherin of you." Draco nodded approvingly, his fingers caressing the sleeve of Harry's robes.

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

"It's late." Harry pulled up the collar of his robes and stepped away from the wall, trying to evade the cutting wind coming into the Owlery.

"It's Lovegood's fault. She was adamant there was a Nargle infestation in the mistletoe and one thing led to another. Shouldn't have teased her about becoming an Auror." Draco glanced slyly at Harry's swollen lips and then stepped towards a thick column, fishing out a parchment from his pocket. "Granger surely had a lot of questions to ask your future self."

"You know how she is." Harry shrugged, crooking his lips in a fond smile. He glanced up at the owls perched high above, their hooting sounds draping him in comforting memories of earlier visits. "Which one is Chronus?"

"You'll see." Draco raised his arm and called out to the bird, "Chronus, if you please. I've an important message for Harry Potter in 2018."

Draco was busy deflecting the irascible owl's deft pecking, and Harry was too absorbed in the lithe figure of his boyfriend to hear the sound of footsteps near the door.

The Eagle owl rose in the sky, wings flapping as he dove towards the mountains, the silhouette glimmering with myriad specks of color as he passed the Hogwarts wards and vanished into the future.

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

**Winter 2018**

Harry sat on his leather chair, calloused fingers rubbing the nape of his neck to assuage the cricks from bending down too long as they observed the Pensieve memory.

Draco sat on the edge of the desk and sighed wistfully. "That was a good time." Pale fingers wrapped around the nutcracker as he gazed fondly at the grey mouse. "I still remember our first kiss."

"I knew at first sight who'd kissed you." Hermione flashed a brief grin at Harry and then she grabbed a parchment to write down the words exchanged in that meeting.

Mrs. Havendish opened the door and said, "The Head Auror is here to see you, Minister Potter."

Harry nodded. "Send Luna in, if you please."

Luna stepped briskly into the office, her robes spread around her slim figure like a mantle of authority. "I'm afraid the news is bad."

She glanced up as an Eagle owl swooped into the office, his wings shimmering briefly in otherworldly colors whose shades escaped the comprehension of the human brain.

The owl landed on Harry's shoulder and while he was busy untying the letter, Draco shot Luna a concerned look.

"My parents?" Draco gulped, his brow furrowing.

"We managed to extricate them safely before the missile sliced through the wards and destroyed Malfoy Manor," Luna said quietly.

Draco cringed at the loss of the ancestral abode of the Malfoys, and Harry squeezed his arm in silent support.

"What does the letter say?" Hermione said.

Harry looked at Draco. "Your younger version has many questions, though there's something I don't understand. They want to know more about the Cyclops Company."

"Are you sure it says so?" Draco said. "Perhaps you misread it?"

Harry handed him the letter. "Take a look; it's your handwriting after all."

Draco peered down at the parchment. "Indeed it says Cyclops where it should read Titan." He bent down to hand Hermione the letter.

"It's strange, isn't it?" Harry frowned, deep in thought.

"The information you sent…" Hermione said wonderingly. "It affected the past; somehow the name of that cursed company changed."

"We have to be careful in wording the messages," Harry said firmly. "Unless we want to effect a greater change than we intend."

Hermione sat up in her chair, her knuckles white as she gripped the letter. She said in a low voice, "Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason?"

Luna's eyes widened when she grasped the implication of Hermione's words. She glanced at Harry and completed the John Harington quote. "Why, if it prosper, none dare call it treason."

Harry shivered, his mind busy grasping with the scope of the changes they might bring about. "Just like treason that turns out to be successful becomes the accepted version of history and the norm…"

"Whatever changes we wrought in the past become our immutable present." Draco glanced at Harry. "Perhaps in the original version you or I were dead."

"And our present is anything but immutable," Luna said dreamily. "It flows like a turbulent river which is shaped by ever shifting shores."


	9. Christmas tree in Malfoy Manor

**Winter 2018**

Harry glanced at his husband, his knuckles white as he gripped the edge of his desk. As he listened to Luna's reports, a part of him wondered how Draco would cope with the loss of the Manor. It had been the ancestral property of the Malfoys for centuries, its history going back a thousand years from snippets of conversations he overheard between Draco and his father.

"That's all, Harry," Luna finished. "We are cooperating with the Department of Mysteries and the Unspeakables, trying to preserve towns and wizarding homes free from Muggle surveillance." She glanced sidelong at Hermione, who was busy writing on a parchment. "We'll apply Hermione's new wards as fast as we can; unfortunately the Muggle satellites…"

"Could receive a transmission which uploads the new version of their surveillance software." Harry frowned, recalling the first time that happened. Hermione had amplified the power of the wards, but in a month's time they had been rendered useless by the patched software.

"The wards should be resilient to satellite surveillance for the moment," Hermione said firmly, her jaw tensing as she wrote a few words. She handed Harry the parchment, her index finger pointing at the heading. "These are the items I think the past should be aware of." Then she smoothed her sweater and stood up. "I'll leave you two to decide which information is safe to send."

"Call me if you need to pick my thoughts," Draco said softly.

"Will do, Draco," Hermione said as she made her way to the door.

"There's one more thing." Luna fished out a photograph from her pocket and placed it upon the table. It showed stones and pieces of masonry on a broken ground. "We had some people going over the debris at Malfoy Manor. Sorry, Draco."

"That's ok, Luna." Draco jutted his chin, hiding his grimace of pain. "Did you find anything unusual?"

"Everything was charred but for this." Luna's finger pointed at a bright speck in the photo near the broken stub of a column. "It must have possessed strong magic to withstand the explosion of the missile."

Draco grabbed the photo, furrowing his brow in concentration. "Seems like a destroyed chalice." He passed the photo to Harry as his gaze drifted towards Luna. "You showed it to my father?"

"He said it was an heirloom which your ancestor Decius Malfoy got from a descendant of Slytherin."

"I remember when he told me that." Draco raised his hand, his fingers rubbing his chin as he stared at the wall.

"It must have a strong protective spell." Harry narrowed his eyes at the picture, his thumb brushing the glossy surface, and then he tilted up his chin to gaze at the Head Auror. "Could we use this for the wards?"

"I'm afraid not, Harry." Luna shook her head. "The Department of Mysteries examined it and the blast eliminated most of its magic."

"The Founders designed the original Hogwarts wards. It is said that each one poured a piece of their magic into them and if this belonged to Salazar…" Draco said.

"We could use it to strengthen our wards." Harry nodded.

Draco stood up and took out his wand. "I'm going to send Hermione a message. She might find a way to restore the chalice."

"Wait a second." Harry raised his hand. "She's developing a new ward design; we shouldn't disturb her."

"Every minute counts," Luna said.

"Exactly, and since we are twenty years too late, I think we should share these results with our past selves," Harry said, palm flat against the parchment with held Hermione's list.

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

**Winter 1998**

"I miss our son, Lucius," Narcissa whispered, alabaster fingers caressing the windowpane next to the main door of the Manor.

She gazed outside the window at the landscape covered by a thick blanket of snow, the white monotony broken by the tall Christmas tree.

Through the years, she had loved watching Draco's intent face as he brandished his wand and cast the spells which floated the Christmas decorations until they nestled safely among the branches. However, this year it just wouldn't happen.

"I understand, Narcissa." Lucius stepped towards his wife, the light from the chandelier striking sparks off his blond mane. "But Draco is safe at Hogwarts, away from the bad memories of this place and any danger."

"Danger?" Narcissa frowned and stepped away from the window. "What do you mean by that, Lucius?"

Lucius sighed, his fingers tight around the etched snake in the handle of his cane. "I didn't want to alarm you, but I have received disquieting news from our contacts."

"Just tell me what it is," Narcissa said shortly.

"It seems that my former associates are not pleased by Draco's friendship with Potter." Lucius said, flinching at the scowl Narcissa directed his way.

"Are you going to interfere, Lucius?" She crossed her arms, her mouth pursed as she stared at him. "Forbid him his friendship with Harry?"

Lucius raised his arm, spreading his fingers. "Far from it, dear. I have no intention of doing that; Merlin knows I did enough, and after the Battle…."

Narcissa stepped towards him and placed her hand on Lucius arm. "I know, Lucius. Draco has to be free to be himself."

Lucius turned his head at the swooshing sounds from the chimney.

"Father, Mother?" Draco called out, stepping out of the parlor into the entrance hall. He was fastidiously brushing ashes off his shoulders, Harry by his side.

"Welcome home, Draco!" Narcissa beamed at him as she walked towards her son, her gaze sliding to his companion. "And Harry!"

Draco hugged his mother, nodding stiffly at his father while Harry fidgeted.

Narcissa breathed in the scent of Draco's cologne, a smile lighting her face. "So nice you could visit. You are staying the night, aren't you?"

"Actually, Mrs. Malfoy…"

"Call me Narcissa."

"We just came here…" Harry paused, flashing Draco a meaningful look. He didn't want to divulge the secret of the letters from the future.

"We came because we need one of the heirlooms for a project in Advanced Charms," Draco said smoothly. "It's that silver chalice with the engraved serpents on the rim, you know."

"I will take you to it," Lucius walked towards them, nodding to Harry. "I keep it in my study."

As the three wizards and Narcissa walked towards the stairs, Lucius glanced at his son. "I must urge you to guard it very carefully. It was a chore to cloak my thoughts so as not to betray its purpose to the Dark Lord. It's imbued with ancient magic, and tradition holds that Salazar himself had it made."

"What does it do?" Harry said, his fingers gripping the banister as he sauntered up the stairs behind the Malfoy patriarch.

Lucius said nothing more while they climbed the stairs. It was only when they had reached the door of his study that he continued. "It is said Salazar made the chalice years after leaving Hogwarts as he attempted to mend his rift with Godric Gryffindor by doing the impossible."

Draco quirked his brow in confusion. "The impossible?"

Lucius grabbed the doorknob and opened the door, and then he turned to fix a stern gaze on Draco. "Salazar thought the only way he could avoid his fight with Godric was by traveling back in time. That's why he had the chalice made, though I highly doubt tradition is correct in this case."


	10. Frosted window

**Winter 1998**

"What does it do?" Ron cocked his chin at the silver chalice on the table.

"The letter said it has a powerful spell protecting it." Draco stared at the snakes etched on the rim of the Slytherin relic. Then his glance slid towards Harry, who was sprawled on the sofa. Draco tried not to shiver at the bright red color of the upholstery which fit so well in the Gryffindor Common Room.

"They instructed us to keep it safe." Harry narrowed his eyes at the unmistakable moue of distaste painted on Draco's handsome visage. In retaliation, he deliberately swung his legs to rest them on his boyfriend's lap.

"I'm researching the symbols in there," Hermione mumbled. She glanced up from the Runes textbook she was reading, her face warmed by the cozy fire. A smile tugged her lips when she saw Draco glaring at Harry as he slouched on the sofa.

"Maybe we should stash it in Harry's vault until we need it in twenty year's time." Draco's glance swept the Common Room, nervous at discussing their plans in the open. "Are you sure we are alone?"

"The others are at the Pitch." Ron sighed, wishing he had been able to attend the Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff match.

"What you said about the time travel aspect was intriguing, but my edition of _Hogwarts: A History_ doesn't mention it." Hermione looked at the dog-eared book on the table.

"I suppose Slytherin failed." Harry shrugged. "If he had succeeded, it would be part of established history, and we know he never reconciled with Godric."

"Mate, wouldn't it be wonderful if we could use that thing?" Ron cocked his chin at the table. "Go back in time and show us a faster way to get rid of Voldemort?"

"The thought has crossed my mind," Harry admitted. "But then I remember Dumbledore's words: 'it is our choices that show what we truly are'"

"We wouldn't be the same without all those travails; things happen for a reason." Hermione mumbled, shivering at the remembrance of the pain endured in the Final Battle. She stole a glance at the relic, realizing the true power it would hold if it truly was a device for time travel, offering the opportunity to change events so their loved ones wouldn't have to die. Shaking her head, she stood up and made her way to the windows and peered at the wan evening light.

"Or we could send letters to ourselves with that owl." Ron leaned down to pick up the Quidditch Quarterly magazine on the table.

"It wouldn't work," Draco said somberly.

Harry glanced up at that. He sat up and reached out his arm to pat Draco's shoulder. "You tried to send a message to the past, didn't you?"

Draco nodded. "Owled myself with some advice for Fourth Year, but Chronus returned and gave it back."

"Perhaps only certain points in time are connected, like a spiderweb's threads," Harry said.

"Did you have to mention spiders, Harry?" Ron said with a shudder.

Hermione turned her back and glanced at Malfoy's pinched features, blond hair glimmering in the firelight as Harry leaned closer and whispered in his ear. Feeling uncomfortable at intruding in such an intimate moment, she tilted her chin and glanced at the windowpane.

There was a thick layer of frost upon the glass. Hermione reached out and spread her fingers, marveling at the intricate tracery and the way the lines branched out, mimicking tree limbs.

It reminded her of the pattern she had glanced on the sky when McGonagall and the professors cast their wards over Hogwarts. If she could weave the magic from the Slytherin relic into the wards in a similar manner, their strengths would match and provide greater protection.

Hermione squared her shoulders and made her way to the sofa. She bent down, brow pursed in concentration as she wrote down her insight.

She was lost in concentration as she scribbled notes on the parchment, dimly aware of the door opening and the mumblings of the returning students. The loud voice of Justin Finch-Fletchley, though, made her look up. The Hufflepuff was surrounded by other students, curls of blond hair peeking from beneath his furred hat as he pointed at Draco.

"What is this Slytherin slime doing here?"

"Justin, what are you on about?" growled Harry.

"I bet this Death Eater is brainwashing you," another Hufflepuff yelled.

"Shut it!" Ron stood up, cheeks red with indignation. "I have more reasons than most to dislike Malfoy, but even I know he's good for Harry."

"How can you stand there so nonchalantly, you Gryffindor pimp?" a burly Hufflepuff said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Ron, wait." Hermione said urgently.

It was too late; with a furious snarl, Ron launched himself on the Hufflepuff. Harry narrowed his eyes as another wizard lifted his leg with the intention to kick Ron and pounced on the offending student, followed a moment later by Draco.

Hermione stood and spread her arms as she said in a loud voice, "Wait, all of you are behaving like savages!"

The portraits having alerted the Headmistress, a few minutes later McGonagall stalked into the Gryffindor Common Room and shouted, "Stop this unseemly fighting at once!"

Writhing bodies in the floor separated as the melee stopped. Amid groans and whimpers, the students stood up and lowered their eyes one by one at the imposing sight of McGonagall's features which oozed disapproval.

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

"I cannot express my extreme disappointment in all of you." McGonagall glared at the bruised faces of Ron, Harry, and Draco. "I would have thought that the stressful experiences you endured would effect a maturing change in your previous childish behavior."

"It's not fair, those gits started!" Ron mumbled.

"You should not have retaliated in this fashion, Weasley," McGonagall said, her lips pursed in a prim line. "Rest assured, however, that the Hufflepuffs have been adequately punished."

Draco smirked at that but when he saw McGonagall's scowl, he tilted down his chin, seemingly absorbed in the pattern on the stone floor.

As the Headmistress chastised them, Harry squirmed on the uncomfortable chair. Would McGonagall confiscate his Invisibility Cloak, thus depriving him of his means to sneak into the Slytherin Common Room to visit Draco? Or perhaps the Marauder Map? Merlin knew he and Draco needed it for sneaking out of Hogwarts!

Harry leaned towards Draco's chair, his hand searching for Draco's. The two intertwined their fingers in silent support.

"Malfoy and Potter, kindly refrain from pawing each other in my presence," McGonagall fumed.

The two Seekers broke their contact and nudged their chairs away from each other as if they had been bathed in Bubotuber Pus.

Ron couldn't help but snicker at that until McGonagall slapped the desk. "Weasley, this is no laughing matter!"

Harry glanced at McGonagall's stern expression and shivered at the way her pointy hat bobbed up and down as she lectured them; the Headmistress appeared as menacing as a marauding rhinoceros.

Draco gulped, earnestly hoping that McGonagall wouldn't forbid visits to Hogsmeade.

Their fears proved to be baseless, though, when McGonagall spoke.

"Confraternatization of the Houses does not imply that Gryffindor and Slytherin should unite in pouncing upon Hufflepuffs!" McGonagall said, her gaze sweeping across the oval room to silence the tittering portraits of former Headmasters and Headmistresses. "To impress this upon you, I believe there's a Trophy Room that needs your immediate care. That will be all."

Harry, Ron, and Draco dashed out of the room, too relieved at their light punishment to notice the way McGonagall's lips twitched as she sought to hide her amusement. She stood up from her chair and went to the door, nudging it open to glance at their retreating backs.

"It is nice to see you kept the ritual, boys," she said fondly. "Hogwarts shall dearly miss your constant scuffles."

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

Draco groaned as he stood up and plopped the cleaning rag on the shelf, his arms tired from the rubbing motions. He scowled at the row of gleaming awards granted to Gryffindor House during Harry's school career.

"I'm tired of polishing your trophies, Potter," he drawled.

"You could polish something else, you know," Harry shot Draco a lascivious smirk.

"Your cockiness demands punishment," Draco growled and then pounced on Harry. Harry groaned as Draco's lips found his. The kiss was sloppy and fast, tongues entwining avidly as hands roamed each other's torsos.

Draco broke the contact and glanced at Harry's flushed cheeks, glasses askew which were straightened by pale fingers. His thumb rubbed Harry's smooth skin, fingers cupping his chin which he tilted delicately to place a fleeting kiss on Harry's pouty lips.

"We've done enough. Let's use magic for the rest," Draco said.

"McGonagall confiscated our wands." Harry brushed his fingers through Draco's rumpled hair, marveling at the silky texture.

Draco wiggled his eyebrows. "You could cast a wandless Accio to get your spare wand just like you did when we pranked the Ravenclaws."


	11. Black and white wolves

**Winter 1998**

"Are you sure it's safe?" Ron glanced at the dank walls that held so many painful memories for him, his brow furrowed as he gripped tightly his wand.

"Why don't you ask Draco?" Harry stuck his hands in the pockets of his robes. "After all, this is his domain."

"I can't believe I'm standing in front of the Chamber of Secrets," Draco said reverently, reaching out his hand so his fingers brushed against the ornate serpents that appeared to writhe by the dim light of the sconces.

"Open up," Harry said in Parseltongue, the sibilant sounds affecting his companions in different ways. Ron shuddered in revulsion while Draco shivered, turning his head to shoot Harry a lustful glance.

As the slabs slid open, Harry made the mental note that Parseltongue appeared to have an aphrodisiac effect on Draco. Then again, it stood to reason that the weakness of the Prince of Slytherin would lie in Salazar's tongue.

"Do you have it?" Ron glanced at Draco before stepping into the cavernous Chamber, looking down at his shoes which were coated with dust, probably the debris from the last time they visited.

"Don't worry. It's here." Draco heaved the Slytherin Chalice as he stepped gingerly into the fabled Chamber of Secrets.

The three wizards ventured into the gloomy darkness that was occasionally pierced by their spells which lit sconces along their way.

"By the way, Weasley. I'm glad you had our backs against those Hufflepuff prats," Draco said.

"No problem. Those gits deserved a good pounding." Ron nodded. He navigated a huge chunk of stone left behind when he and Harry were here. Peering into the darkness, he tried to lighten the mood and nudged Malfoy's shoulder. "I can't believe you thought Harry was the Heir of Slytherin!"

"How did you know?" Draco growled and then shook his head. "Oh, you and Harry used Polyjuice in your little Second Year escapade."

"And Harry thought you were the Heir of Slytherin. You two were so obsessed with each other even then!" Ron snickered.

"We weren't." Harry protested as he raised his wand to cast Lumos.

"We were just observant children." Draco concurred.

"Of course."

"Indeed."

"Great minds think alike." Harry nodded, shivering at the sight of basilisk skin in front of him.

"Rather, snog alike," Ron mumbled, his hand splayed against the humid stones of the wall for support as he stepped onto a shallow depression on the floor. "I saw what you two were doing in detention when I came back from the bathroom."

Ron pointed at a spot ten yards ahead. "That's the lowest point of the Chamber, I believe. Hermione and I found it when we came here during the Battle."

"This ought to do." Harry nodded. "Hermione said she needed the Slytherin Chalice at the lowest point of Hogwarts to anchor her new ward design." He was walking along Ron, the light from his wand lending his black hair an ethereal sheen that made Draco's heart beat faster. He had to admit Harry cut a dashing figure even in this subterranean domain.

Having reached the spot, Draco knelt and placed the Chalice in the middle of a shallow dip in the stony floor, tilting up his chin to look around as he gauged the risk of stones tumbling down and knocking the Chalice from its position.

Just to be sure, the three of them cast spells to permanently fix the Slytherin relic in that spot.

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

"Are you ready?" Hermione said, the wind ruffling her locks as she snuggled into her winter coat and raised her wand southwards.

Ron fished out his wand from his pocket and lifted his arm towards the East while Draco did likewise in the opposite direction. Harry stood behind Hermione, his wand at the ready as he pointed at the North.

"I believe we are," Harry said.

"Fine. We are going to cast the wards." Hermione frowned. "The layered protection ought to strengthen the already existing wards considerably, especially taking into account the magic is interwoven with that coming from the relics of the Founders."

"I had to go to the Hufflepuff Basement," Draco growled. "Those prats were glaring at me the whole time. Luckily they had to go to detention and I seized the moment to hide that relic the Grey Lady told us about."

"The people in Ravenclaw Tower didn't pay attention to me." Ron said. "Too engrossed with early revising to notice me."

"Seamus and Dean were playing Exploding Snap." Hermione shrugged. "I just shoved the Gryffindor relic onto a crack on the wall."

"So we have all the anchors you mentioned in place," Harry said. "What do we do now?"

"Cast the incantation I had you memorize," Hermione said. "And swish your wand just so." She demonstrated the exact motions, and then she glanced at Harry. "You should do it in Parseltongue, it will add another magical layer to the ward design."

Harry nodded and squared his shoulders. "Whenever you're ready, Hermione."

"On the count of three," Hermione said in a low voice. "One, two, three!"

The four students murmured the incantation, Draco shivering at the oddly sensual Parseltongue sounds bathing his body in pleasure, just like the sky was covered with an eerie glow that crept downward from a point right above them until it reached the horizon, limning it in shades of red, blue, yellow, and silver which lasted but a few seconds each.

Once the wards settled, Draco pointed at the sky. "The students are bound to notice that."

"The teachers will explain it as Northern lights," Hermione said.

"Good idea, Mione."

"It wasn't mine but McGonagall's." Hermione blushed. "She came up with it when I asked her permission to cast the wards."

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

"So once more you drag me into the Forbidden Forest," Draco drawled, trudging through the fine layer of snow that lent the Forest a Christmas atmosphere.

"It's not my fault Hermione wants us to test the scope of the new wards," grumbled Harry, his green eyes narrowing at the gloomy copse of trees. "She thinks it important that centaurs and the creatures here should be protected from Muggle probes when they develop them later." He glanced sideways at Draco. "Besides, we came here two months ago to gather those herbs."

"Ah, the potion I brewed for the Halloween prank!" Draco smirked in satisfaction, splaying his gloved fingers against the rough bark of an oak as he gazed at the tiny snowflakes falling from the grey sky.

"Do you think there are Acromantulas?" Ron said tentatively, his scarf a dash of wild colors against his black coat.

"I don't think so," Draco said. "It's too cold for them. Merlin, I'm freezing even after casting a Warming spell on myself!"

"Don't worry; I'll heat you up properly once we return." Harry turned his head to flash Draco a naughty leer.

"Promises, promises," Draco growled.

"Cut it, you two! Should've brought ear muffins," grumbled Ron as he leaned down to peer at the space between two trees. "Hey, come here! You've got to see this!" He motioned at the two Seekers.

"What is it, a tiny baby Acromantula?" Draco taunted him.

"What is it, Ron?" Harry reached his best friend and looked towards the clearing Ron pointed out to him.

There were two magnificent wolves side by side, one with white fur and the other black. The two wolves pricked up their ears and glanced at their direction before dashing towards a thicker portion of the Forest.

"That's what your Animagi would look like. Those two are surely a mated pair." Ron nodded as he recalled a conversation with his brother. "Charlie once told me wolves mate for life."

Harry blushed and turned his gaze from Draco. Were the wolves an omen which pointed at the bond that had sprung between him and the Slytherin?


	12. Hot chocolate

**Winter 1998**

Harry hunched his shoulders as he trudged in the snow near the border of the Forbidden Forest. He squinted at the Lumos light in front of him which wavered on top of Draco's wand.

"The wards function alright," Ron mumbled, walking a few steps behind him. "Now we have to get out of this bloody cold!"

Draco pulled up the collar of his cloak. "I wish I had one of your scarves, Weasley."

Ron snorted. "Really?"

"Yes."

"I'll tell mom." From the corners of his eyes, Ron glanced at Draco. "Now that you're with Harry, she will be pleased to knit one for you."

"Thanks, Weasley."

"It's alright."

Harry craned his neck to glance at the night sky above as cold snowflakes caressed his cheeks. "The lights from the wards are fading. Only the yellow afterglow remains."

"Talking about yellow," Draco said. "Several of the Hufflepuffs that attacked us are Muggleborns."

"Yeah, reckon there are lots of Muggleborns in that House," Ron said.

Recalling Hermione's list, Harry caught the significance of Draco's words. "You think they might be behind Cyclops?"

"Finch-Fletchley also is a Muggleborn," Draco said. "I'm not sure about Romilda Vane."

"Come on, Draco!" Harry sniggered. "You can't take her seriously. I remember when she came to our Quidditch tryouts; she fell on a heap, laughing with her pals. Had to ask her to leave."

"Nevertheless, she has reason to dislike us." Ron pointed out. "And she was smart enough to slip me that love potion."

"You're right, Weasley. It wouldn't do to underestimate anyone." Draco nodded. "We should make a list and owl it to our future selves."

The three wizards were walking out of the copse of trees when they heard a rumbling voice up ahead.

"Greetings, Harry Potter."

Harry looked up at that, recognizing the gold coat of the centaur that walked towards them with slow steps, his silvery blond mane seemingly glowing in the dark.

"Good night, Firenze." Harry gave him a shallow bow.

Firenze stopped in front of them, his hooves moving restlessly as he glanced up at the swaths of stars visible through the clouds. "The sky is in turmoil tonight."

"Must be the wards," Ron said.

"It's not that simple." Firenze's tail flicked nervously. "The wards are transitory, but in reading the sky, my brethren find puzzling signs of change the likes of which we've never observed."

"What do you think it means?" Harry stuck his gloved hands in his pockets, wishing Firenze would get to the point. At that moment he wanted nothing more than to sneak into the Hogwarts kitchens and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate.

"The presages in the stars are ominous," Firenze mumbled. "Foretelling disasters untold, yet they shift restlessly and contradict themselves the next moment."

"Are those disasters going to strike soon?" Harry said.

Firenze's blond mane spread like a cone of Lumos light as he fiercely shook his head. "That's the strangest aspect yet; the heavens behave like a restless foal, pointing to catastrophes in the future and present."

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

"It was nice of McGonagall to let us come to Hogsmeade." Harry cradled the cup of hot chocolate between his hands, peering at Draco over the rim of his cup. The clangs of the pots and pans in the kitchen provided a soothing background noise which was interspersed with songs from the Wizarding Wireless Network.

"Yes, given that she caught us as we were about to enter the secret passage," Draco said ruefully. "I thought your Invisibility Cloak was undetectable?"

"She must have Dumbledore's keen senses." Harry mused and then took a long sip of his drink, delighting in the sweet taste. "Anyway, you managed to charm her enough so she let us go."

"Thanks, I just complimented her warmly on her idea about explaining the wards." Draco puffed up his chest as he cupped his hot chocolate drink between his palms. "I just used her preference for Gryffindors so she would let us come."

"Did you send the letter?" Harry cocked his head at the window of Madam Puddifoot's.

Glancing at Draco's chiseled face, Harry didn't pay attention to the tacky ambience of the tea shop. They had the place mostly to themselves, since the students were at Hogwarts.

Draco nodded. "Chronus was there. I guess he got tired of the Owlery."

"Good." Harry raised his cup and took a long sip of the chocolate. His face lit up as the slow cadence of the Weird Sister's hit 'Magic Works' came over the wireless.

"I just love this song," Harry said.

Draco cocked his chin at a space in front of the table. "Do you want to dance? It's our first date after all."

Harry ducked his head to hide his blushing cheeks and nodded.

The two wizards stood up and stepped towards each other, Draco's arms easily molding around Harry's toned chest.

Madam Puddifoot glanced at them, her face breaking into a wide grin at the sight of the two wizards swaying slowly to the music, blond and black hair glimmering in the soft light as they leaned closer for a slow kiss.

Harry breathed the lyrics into Draco's ear as snow fell outside the window.

_This is your final chance  
>To hold the one you love<br>You know you've waited long enough_

_..._

* * *

><p>...<p>

_Believe that magic works  
>Don't be afraid of being hurt<br>Don't let this magic die_

Draco whispered the words into Harry's ear, his fingers brushing tousled hair as he reluctantly broke the contact.

"You remembered, Draco," Harry whispered, the pad of his thumb tracing a path down the alabaster cheek he knew so well.

"Our first date, Harry." The corners of Draco's lips tugged up in his trademark Malfoy smirk. "I thought it was appropriate for our anniversary. Let me tell you it was a chore to get the record of that old song."

"It's been wonderful." Harry made his way to his chair and sat down, tilting up his chin to glance out the window of their apartment at the London skyline. He picked up his cup of hot chocolate and took a sip. "Wonder how you managed to find the time in your busy schedule."

Draco took his seat on the other side of the table and raised his cup in a silent toast. "The Minister of Magic will always make time for his husband, especially now that the Muggle situation is stabilized. And your schedule is equally busy."

"Reckon so," Harry mumbled. "Luckily Ron helps a lot in organizing the Aurors."

The two wizards looked at the window when they heard the pecking sounds coming from outside. It was an Eagle owl which seemed to be in a bad mood, judging by its imperious hooting.

"Mrs. Havendish must have forgotten something," Draco said as he took out his wand and swished it at the window to unlatch it.

Draco narrowed his eyes at the glimmering silhouette of the owl. Then he liberated the parchment tied around the owl's claw, shuddering as the owl pecked him almost affectionately, its weight upon his shoulder conjuring a vague remembrance.

He pursed his brow as he smoothed the crinkled parchment with the palm of his hand and read the letter.

"Well, what is it?" Harry said anxiously, lowering his cup to the table. "Do you need to go back to the Ministry?"

"This is strange," Draco murmured. "The letter points out our recent problems with Muggleborn surveillance and mentions wards and list of suspects?" He drummed his fingers on the table and then glanced up at Harry. "And it's your handwriting. It says you wrote it twenty years ago…"

"You're taking the piss, Malfoy." Harry frowned at his husband. "I don't believe you."

"It's Malfoy-Potter to you," Draco drawled, waving the parchment. "Is this for our anniversary? Are you trying to evoke the feelings of the times we pulled our pranks at Hogwarts?"

"Let me see," Harry said, nodding at his husband when he pushed the parchment towards him.

Harry tilted down his chin and read the message, his eyes widening at the content. "This is incredible!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:<strong> Lyrics are from the Weird Sisters' _Magic Works_ ^-^_


	13. Boxes of wands

**Winter 2018**

"What are we doing to do with this?" Draco tapped the parchment on the table, raising his gaze to Harry.

"I honestly don't recall writing it!" Harry scrunched up his face in concentration, fingertips brushing the handwriting that was undeniably his own. "It rings true, though. I recall we had a fight with three obnoxious Hufflepuffs on this list."

"I really…" Draco started to say.

Harry leaned back on his chair, took off his glasses and then pinched the bridge of his nose. "Remember that Smith and the others didn't take their punishment in stride?"

Draco nodded slowly. "They kept harassing me the rest of the term."

Harry put on his glasses again and leaned down, his finger pointing at the paragraph at the end of the letter. "What it says about the Muggle surveillance rings true."

"Except for the fact that they paint a dire situation and while the reports I've received are threatening, it's nowhere as bad as the letter describes," Draco said. "We should consult Hermione; she's good at detecting forgeries and enchanted parchments."

Harry nodded. "I'll send a Patronus message to her and Ron."

"Good. While you do it, I'll go over the reports from the Unspeakables. I'll be in the study." Draco stood up and walked towards Harry, tilting down his chin to give him a warm smile. "It seems our anniversary is ruined."

"Not really." Harry lifted his hand to squeeze Draco's arm. "We can continue the celebration tomorrow night."

"I'll hold you to that," Draco said softly, and then he made his way out of the dining room.

Draco busied himself with the reports from Unspeakables Belby and Lovegood, hardly aware of time, as was his wont. He heard someone stepping out of the chimney and the vague murmur of low voices as Harry acquainted Hermione with the situation.

Finally, Harry and his best friend stepped into the study. He glanced up at that and flashed her a brief smile. Hermione sat opposite Draco while Harry perched on the desk and crossed his arms.

"It's no forgery and there are no spells upon the letter." She placed the parchment on the middle of the desk.

"Do you recall any of that?" Pale fingers brushed the message as Draco cocked his chin at it. "The letter says you narrowed the lists of suspects and also designed the Hogwarts wards."

"It's infuriating!" Hermione sighed wearily, lifting her hand to rub her forehead as she said in a low monotone, "Of course I remember designing the wards and then casting them. We all did." She looked at them. "But afterwards there are hazy spots I can't recall."

Draco nodded, sweeping his arm to indicate the three of them. "We cast the wards together with Ron. And by the way, where is he?"

"He went to Diagon Alley with Rose. She needs a book for school." Hermione smiled proudly; Rose certainly displayed her same thirst for knowledge.

"Say hello to my goddaughter," Harry said.

"I will, Harry. Anyway; happy anniversary you two!" Hermione grinned at them, and then her brow furrowed as she grabbed the letter. "It's so frustrating to have these blank spots in my memory though, it's as if…"

Draco raised his eyebrows in confusion as Hermione muttered to herself, "I've examined the parchment but not us."

"What do you mean?" Harry said.

Hermione stood up and took out her wand; she brandished it with practiced ease as she cast a detection spell on the three of them.

"What was that all about?" Draco shivered at the delicate magic that washed over him.

"It's a diagnostic spell," Hermione said quietly, nibbling on her bottom lip as she studied the results.

"I should've known!" she growled at last.

"What?" said Harry thickly.

"We are under a Memory Charm, and a botched one at that!" Hermione gripped her wand tightly.

"Can you undo it?" Draco said sharply.

"I believe I can." Hermione pursed her lips in concentration as she made slashing motions with her wand which resulted in the appearance of a sign in midair resembling a cork stoppering a potions vial. She cocked her chin at it and explained. "That's the rune for memory, _Perdhro_."

Hermione muttered an incantation, too low for Harry and Draco to hear. A brief glow spread from her wand and covered them, shimmering to nothing in the blink of an eye.

Draco gulped as recollections of their writing and receiving those letters flooded his mind. Then he nodded at Hermione. "Thank you."

Harry bent to retrieve the letter and read it again. "Now it makes sense." He glanced up at his husband. "I wrote this the day before our Hogsmeade date."

Draco nodded. "Who cast the Memory Charm though? Was it someone that seeks to interrupt our communication through time?"

Harry gazed keenly at Hermione. "Can you tell us approximately when it was cast?"

Hermione's lips curled up as she flashed them a triumphant smile. "I can do better than that. Muggles may have honed their surveillance skills, but we do not lag behind them when it comes to magic. I can pinpoint the wand that cast the Memory Charm."

"How will that help us, though?" Draco crossed his arms, staring quizzically at her.

Swishing her wand, Hermione made shooing motions with her other hand. Harry glanced at Draco and shrugged, not bothering to interrupt his best friend when she needed all her concentration. He was sure Hermione had an ace up her sleeve; she always did.

Draco narrowed his eyes at Hermione, who was smiling in satisfaction.

As she pocketed her wand she said in a low voice, "The Memory Charm is twenty years old, and as for the wand…"

"Ollivanders?" Harry said wonderingly.

"Exactly." Hermione beamed at him. "After twenty years, chances are that the wand is back in Ollivanders' hands."

Draco's thumb brushed the sheaf of parchments on his desk. "We can find out who had the wand at that time."

"We can do even better than that." Hermione positively gloated. "Let's send a message to our younger counterparts. Our results will help them avoid the Memory Charm in the first place."

Draco muttered, "If Chronus allows it. The owl must be ticked off since I forgot to give him his treats."

Hermione discreetly rolled her eyes as she made her way to the door. "I will go to Ollivanders and find out the wand."

"Wait; don't go alone." Draco held up his hand, his eyes falling on the reports on the table. "Luna will accompany you."

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

"There are easily a thousand wands here." Luna glanced at the shelves in the store room of Ollivanders. Each one was stacked to the brim with wand boxes.

"Don't worry," Hermione said as she took out her wand. "The spell will tell us where the wand is, provided it is here."

Luna gazed at the shabby room while Hermione cast the spell. A thin beam shot out of her wand straight towards the upper shelves, bathing them in a soft light, and in the middle of the stacked boxes a brown one shined with an ethereal glow.

Hermione noted the precise location of the box as Luna went to the other room to get the owner.

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

Luna strolled through the corridor of the Ministry, her eyes widening at the Umgubular slashkilter perched in front of Draco's office. She nodded at it and then opened the door to step inside, waving hello to the secretary.

"Ms. Lovegood, Minister Malfoy is expecting you." Mrs. Havendish motioned to the door.

Luna shot her a brief smile and grabbed the doorknob; judging from the voices coming from inside, Draco was with Harry.

Luna went inside, nodding at Draco and Harry. She took out a piece of parchment from the pocket of her robes and placed it on the desk. "Here's the description of the wand and its owner."

"Thank you, Luna." Draco grabbed the parchment and read it. "Any problems?"

"None at all. Ollivanders was most cooperative." She sat down on the chair and glanced at Harry, who was perched on the edge of the desk.

"Hermione?" Harry arched his eyebrow at her.

"She went home," Luna said as she leaned back on the comfortable chair, her silvery blue gaze directed at Harry. "It's funny; the last time I was here you were the Minister of Magic instead of Draco."

"What?" Draco said sharply, grey eyes widening in surprise.


	14. Poinsettias

"Draco's always been the Minister of Magic." Harry stood up and frowned at Luna.

"It took a lot of effort to forge the political coalition that got me here." Draco narrowed his eyes at her and then leaned back on his leather chair, his gaze lost in the ceiling as he said in a deep voice, "And I don't appreciate your telling me this is just a dream."

"You misunderstand me, Draco," Luna said soothingly. "It's never been my intention to mock you or imply this is a dream." Her knuckles knocked against the mahogany desk. "This is solid and real; only, it has not always been so."

"What do you mean, exactly?" Harry said.

Luna cocked her chin at the parchment. "Those letters from the past are true. There's been an exchange of information that has affected the time stream." She glanced at Draco. "You were the Head Auror but a while ago."

"I've never been particularly inclined to become an Auror," Draco scoffed.

"You chose differently in that other past." Luna shrugged delicately. "Just like Harry chose the steps that would lead him to become the Minister of Magic."

"So the last time you were here, I was the Minister?" Harry puzzled his brows in confusion. He was struggling with the concept of time-travel altering their paths.

"Yes. Last time you were here with Draco," Luna said. "In other visits… you were alone."

Harry glanced at his husband and nodded. Merlin knew he and Draco had had a rocky start as they worked to leave the shadows of the past behind; if their shared love of mischief and rule-breaking hadn't brought them together in Eighth Year, they would have probably remained merely acquaintances.

"So Draco and I didn't get together in that time stream," he said at last.

Draco listened intently to Luna's revelation, gazing at the window as he tried to compose the thoughts which were swirling madly in his brain.

"No, it wasn't like that." Luna tilted down her chin and stared sadly at the floor. "Draco had died."

Harry gulped and then stepped towards Luna, patting her shoulder awkwardly. "Can you tell me how it happened?"

"I don't remember." Luna raised her hand to touch briefly Harry's fingers. "I glimpse fuzzy images, random impressions. It's feels like when you hit your head on the door and see stars; they flitter in and out of view." She cocked her chin at the door. "Just like the Umgubular Slashkilter in the corridor."

Harry started pacing to and fro while his husband and Luna remained silent. What Luna had said made his heart throb painfully as he recalled the agonizing moments during the Final Battle when the Fiendfyre threatened to destroy Draco. Harry had come back for him, braving the risk of death even if the fate of the wizarding world depended on him. It had taken but a heartbeat to make up his mind because Harry had realized he could not live in a world without his blond nemesis in it.

As his glance dropped to the parchment on the desk, Harry knew the reason he had sent those letters to the past. He would try any desperate measure, defy time and fate themselves, just to get his Draco back.

"Do you realize the import of Luna's words?" Draco said broodingly. "Those Nargles, Heliopaths, Wrackspurts, and the other animals that only she is able to see? They are the remnants of previous time streams."

Harry raised his eyebrows, his objections to Draco's conclusions on the tip of his tongue but he bit back his retort when he remembered the Thestrals. Only he and Luna had been able to see them; only the people that witnessed Death.

He nodded curtly at Draco, whose lips curled in the briefest grin before he leaned down to grab the parchment.

"We are not the only ones who have successfully altered the past," Draco said as his fingers brushed the ink on the soft vellum. "Those glimpses of exotic animals that only Luna can see are the proof that other agents have meddled with the past, and we have no way of knowing if their intentions were good or malevolent."

Luna nodded sagely as she took Draco's words in stride.

Silence hung heavy in the office for a few seconds, and then Draco stood up and went to the cabinet in the corner. He opened a drawer and rummaged inside, finally grabbing a thick folder which he plopped down on the desk.

"This ability could provide us with another advantage." Draco frowned as he pulled several photos from the folder. He sat down on his chair and spread them in a neat row.

"What do you see, Luna?" he pushed several pictures towards her. "Are there images superimposed? Is there any clue that could lead us to past weaknesses in the wards, or Muggle interference?"

Luna grabbed the first photo. It depicted Hogwarts castle at dusk. Studying it intently, she said, "It's just the castle, nothing more." She picked up another, her face breaking in a wide smile. "I remember this. It's Greenhouse Three at Hogwarts."

Her thumb brushed the glossy photograph with affection. "Neville grew those poinsettias. It's one of his many Hogwarts projects."

"It seems Neville's duties haven't quashed his love for plants," Harry said with a fond grin.

Draco nodded. "Hogwarts certainly possesses a more relaxed atmosphere under Headmaster Longbottom."

Luna handed Draco the photos and shrugged. "Sorry, all I see is what's in there."

"It was worth a try," Draco said as he flipped open the folder and pushed them inside. "Now it's time to compose the message to our younger selves."


	15. Christmas cocktails

**Winter 1998**

The Fat Lady craned her neck as she held the altissimo note, her arms spread wide while her voice echoed through the corridor outside the entrance of Gryffindor Tower. When she finished, the sudden silence was interrupted by hearty applause and she turned her head.

"Dear one, you flatter me," she whispered as she gave Draco a shallow bow.

"Bravo! Bravo!" Draco gushed. "Your passion and technique excels those opera singers I've heard."

The Fat Lady blushed deeply and opened the door. "I'll let you in just once, Draco. Next time, be sure they give you the password."

"I will be sure to do so." Draco smirked at her and entered the Gryffindor Common Room, wincing at the loud music inside.

He scrunched up his nose at the cloying smell of perfume from the girls invited to the Christmas party. Glancing around, he noticed the students were clustered in groups; the Gryffindors drawn into a circle that surrounded the Golden Trio; the Hufflepuffs clustered around that Smith prat, and Theodore Nott, Blaise and Pansy – the only Slytherins – talking with Ginny Weasley and Romilda Vane.

Harry shot him a wide grin and waved at him. Draco nodded and turned his head when a house-elf approached him, holding up a tray with Christmas cocktails which he shoved in his direction. Tilting down his chin, Draco stared intently at the glasses which held green and red drinks.

Luna stepped towards him and picked up a green cocktail which she offered to Draco. He bowed and grasped the glass by the stem, dipping it towards her in a silent toast.

"Harry insisted in mixing the green drinks in your honor." Luna sipped daintily her cocktail.

"It's deeply appreciated," he drawled. "Where are the other Ravenclaws?"

"They're busy revising for exams." Luna glanced down at the tray and hefted a red drink. "Though I believe they are secretly intimidated by the Nargles perched outside our Common Room."

Draco rolled his eyes and raised the glass to take a sip. Then grey eyes widened at the sight of a flustered Harry, who was stalking towards him.

"May Reetch offer the great Master Harry a drink?" the house elf-said.

"Sure." Harry beamed a smile at the elf, who apparently had been waiting only for him. Reetch bowed and then walked away, muttering, "I've seen the great Harry Potter!"

"You're surrounded by sycophants and admirers, Potter," Draco huffed, narrowing his eyes at Harry.

Harry glared at him over the rim of his glass. "Says the wizard who chatted up the Fat Lady to gain entrance!"

"You have Extendable Ears, I see." Draco's finger prodded Harry's chest.

"Nope, with serviceable ghosts I don't need them." Harry flashed him a smirk.

"Talking about ghosts; how about a midnight rendezvous?" Draco leered.

"Your bedroom or mine?" Harry whispered, a blush tingeing his cheeks.

Draco cocked his chin at the students in front of him. "Yours is too busy, and mine too. We should just skip to…" He trailed off at the sight of the owl pecking on the window.

Hermione, who was near the window, opened it and the owl swooped into the room and straight towards them.

"What is it?" Harry turned his back and looked at the bird. At first he thought the Eagle owl was Chronus, but it seemed smaller and less belligerent.

The owl landed on Harry's shoulders, grasping a gaudily wrapped package in its claw. Harry fished out an owl treat from his pocket and gave it to the bird while he untied his gift as he tried to ignore Draco's growling.

Finally, Harry slipped the ribbon off the box and tore the Christmas wrapping.

"What is it?" Draco said impatiently.

Harry opened the box and peered inside, mumbling, "It's a receipt for a Broomstick servicing kit. Must be the gift from my secret admirer."

"I know who it is," Luna said dreamily, the two Seekers whipping their necks to stare at her.

"Zacharias." Luna shrugged. "Heard him boasting about it when he was talking to Terry Boot."

"Why did you invite him to your party?" Draco said through gritted teeth. "Why invite any of them?" His angry gaze swept the room for Smith, who was staring intently at them, and Romilda, who appeared to be absent.

"It wasn't me, ok?" Harry scowled at him and then shrugged. "The party was Hermione and Ginny's idea, and they invited all of the students that remained at Hogwarts."

Taking a deep breath, Draco forced himself to calm down. "I'm sorry; it's just that Smith can't wait to have his greedy paws all over you."

Harry pocketed the receipt and grinned briefly. Truth to tell, he was thrilled by Draco's possessiveness. The Slytherin looked hot when he was jealous, pale cheeks flushed a most becoming shade of Gryffindor red, grey eyes sparkling with anger, and ruffled blond hair from Draco combing his fingers through his locks. Harry couldn't help but feel desired and wanted.

"That's ok." Harry raised his hand to squeeze Draco's arm. "He means nothing. It should be obvious it's you I care about."

"I wanted to be your partner in the owl gift exchange," Draco confessed in a small voice. "But with all the owls, and then the wards, I didn't get the chance to..."

"Use your Slytherin cunning to outwit Smith?" Harry smiled widely. "It doesn't matter."

From the corner of his eyes, Draco noticed Hermione opening the window again. Another Eagle owl flew inside the Common Room, and this time there could be no mistake for it was Chronus.

The owl hooted softly as he swooped down towards them, landing on Harry's shoulder.

"How are you, Chronus?" Harry beamed at the bird and to Draco's astonishment, Chronus hooted amiably while Harry untied the message tied to his claw and gave him a treat.

Having realized the owl was the famed time-traveler messenger, Hermione made her way towards them.

Draco frowned as Harry lowered his chin, his brow furrowing in a scowl as he read the letter from the future.

"You had better read this," Harry mumbled as he handed over the parchment, and then turned his gaze towards Hermione. "We're in trouble."

Draco looked at the letter, his eyes widening as he read the content.

_Harry,_

_Excuse my lack of polished manners in this letter, but an urgent situation has come to our attention. I earnestly hope this message reaches you in time. We have evidence that someone cast a Memory Charm on us – meaning you, Hermione and me – some days after we cast the Hogwarts wards. Thanks to Hermione's insight, we traced the wand that performed the spell. It belongs to…_

Draco glared at the name of the culprit, knuckles gripping the parchment so tightly that small tears appeared at the edges. "That damnable…"

"Malfoy, Potter, come here!"

The whispering sounds of the partygoers ceased as they all stared at Harry and Draco.

"Head… Headmistress," Harry stammered. "What are you doing here?"

"I've unearthed incriminating evidence about the Halloween prank!" McGonagall glared at them.

"But, Headmistress McGonagall, it is our last Christmas party," Hermione pleaded. "And though I hate pranks, the Halloween one was rather inoffensive."

"That is enough, Miss Granger!" McGonagall said, her lips pursed in a thin line. "Since you are so nosy, you will accompany your friends to my office!"

As the three students made their way out of the Common Room, Harry and Draco exchanged glances. Draco raised his eyebrow and cocked his chin at the parchment he held in his hand, and Harry nodded slowly.

They stepped into the corridor, the Fat Lady shyly waving hello at Draco. Harry sniggered and elbowed him sharply while Hermione lifted her hand to scold them.

It was then that McGonagall whipped around fast.

Draco pulled out his wand and Harry scowled at the Headmistress.

McGonagall's pointy hat was askew as she raised her wand at them and yelled, "_Obliviate!_"

Draco was too late to counteract the spell but, luckily for them, Harry managed to cast a wandless shield. The air in front of the three glimmered as the shield absorbed the spell.

Meanwhile, Hermione had managed to take out her wand. She didn't know what the situation was that merited her friend's strange behavior, but something in McGonagall's stance seemed forced. Whereas the Headmistress's stiff formality often was soothed by her obvious care, this time there was a certain awkwardness to it.

Hermione brandished her wand and cast a swift _Incarcerous_ at her favorite teacher, earnestly hoping that Harry and Draco had a good explanation for this.

McGonagall sunk to the floor as the ropes enveloped her, tightening around her body while she glared at them. "You silly fools!"

"Good thinking, Granger!" Draco nodded at her and passed her the letter from his future self.

Hermione read the message, her fingers gripping tightly the vellum. Then she raised anguished eyes at Harry. "Do you really think that is….?"

"Romilda Vane?" Harry glared at the impostor writhing on the floor. "I'm sure she is."

"You know what gave her away?" Draco drawled as Hermione handed back the letter. "You are McGonagall's favorite student. Even if you stood up for us, she would never treat you like that."

"Even if she were mad at you," Harry said with a soft smile. "McGonagall wouldn't call you nosy."

"But where is the real McGonagall?" Hermione's gaze darted towards the end of the corridor. "Do you think Romilda hurt her?"

"Nope, Vane wouldn't be able to beat McGonagall," Harry said.

"I bet the Headmistress is taking a nap or busy otherwise," Draco drawled as he walked towards the entrance to Gryffindor Tower.

"Dear lady," Draco said, gazing deep into the Fat Lady's eyes.

"Yes, dear?"

"Could you be so kind as to contact the portraits in the Headmistress' office and let them know what transpired here?"

"You're so thoughtful, but I've already done so, dear Draco," the Fat Lady said huskily.

Harry growled at them while Hermione shook her head, quite amused at the antics of her friends.


	16. Candy canes

**Winter 1998**

McGonagall swished her wand and cast _Wingardium leviosa_ at the writhing form of Romilda Vane, nodding severely at Harry. "I'm glad you three could escape Vane's design."

"Excuse me, Headmistress." Hermione raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" McGonagall raised her eyebrow at her.

"What's going to happen to Romilda?" said Hermione in a hushed tone.

"After I have heard all the witnesses in this case, I will take the decision." McGonagall swept her gaze from Harry to Draco to Hermione. "Rest assured that if I conclude your story is true, Vane will certainly be expelled from Hogwarts. The misuse of Polyjuice in this matter is very grave indeed."

Draco scuffed his shoes on the stone floor, unsure if he should tell McGonagall what had occurred in Hogsmeade with Romilda impersonating Harry. Then again, he thought with a shrug, McGonagall was sure to find out that information from Romilda herself.

He coughed discreetly.

"Yes, Malfoy?" McGonagall said curtly.

Draco told them about his Hogsmeade visit, and finding Harry locked in the arms of Zacharias Smith only to find out later it wasn't Harry but Romilda using Polyjuice. When he finished, he hardly dared to raise his eyes and meet Harry's gaze.

"That's most troubling, Malfoy. I will look further into this matter." McGonagall raised her wand and directed Romilda towards her office; her lonely silhouette as she made her way farther along the corridor evoked dread in Draco.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Harry said. "I should've been aware of someone impersonating me!"

Noting the scowl on Harry's face, Hermione squeezed his elbow and nodded hastily at Draco before returning to Gryffindor Tower.

"I just didn't want anything to mar our relationship." Draco brushed his fingers through his hair, his eyes darting away as he sought to evade Harry's accusing glare. "Everything was going perfectly well, and you know I have the tendency to ruin things by running my mouth."

Harry's face softened as he took in Draco's obvious distress. He stepped toward his boyfriend and patted him on the shoulder. "I'm not angry, just surprised is all."

Draco breathed a sigh of relief and lifted his hand to press his fingers against Harry's calloused palm. "I guess Polyjuice has the ability to haunt me."

"It's a dangerous potion, and those two gits seem to have a ready supply at hand by the looks of it," Harry said.

Draco looked up at that. "That's true," he mused. "We should be more proactive and confiscate the potion wherever we find it. Maybe steal a crucial ingredient like Lacewing flies so no one can brew it."

"That's a good idea," Harry said. "But it's a very hard potion to brew. I doubt anyone has the skills to brew it except you and Hermione. We should simply see if Slughorn has any. If he does, let's keep it."

"Good thinking, Harry, I'll make a Slytherin out of you yet." Draco shot him a brief smile and cocked his head towards the end of the corridor. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

The two wizards weren't able to steal the Polyjuice, though. When they knocked on the door of his office, Horace Slughorn himself opened and waved them inside.

"Dear Harry, it's so nice to see you!" Slughorn beamed at him, the light from the sconces reflecting on his bald pate. He greeted Draco with considerable less enthusiasm. "You too, Malfoy."

"Professor Slughorn." Draco nodded.

"Please take a seat, gentlemen." He hooked his fingers on the pockets of his vests and cocked his chin at his desk, where two empty vials nestled against each other. "I'm afraid the office is a mess. I've just gotten rid of my supply of Polyjuice at the request of the Headmistress. Minerva came by and told me about that horrible incident with Miss Vane, horrible indeed. I'm afraid both Miss Vane and Mr. Smith will be expelled."

Harry exchanged a glance with Draco, unsure of how to proceed. Now that Professor Slughorn had disposed of the troublesome potion, it seemed their visit was pointless. Nevertheless, he narrowed his eyes at the thought that they could glean more information.

"Did you notice something strange about the vials of Polyjuice?" Harry pointed at the desk.

"Now that you mention, dear boy." Slughorn motioned towards the wall. "They were out of the cupboard. I placed strong wards upon it, but apparently those two students found their way around them." Slughorn tilted down his chin and mumbled under his breath, "If only I had the Slytherin chalice."

Harry pricked up his ears at that. Knowing Slughorn's penchant for secrecy and how hard it had been to get that memory of his meeting with Tom Riddle Jr. out of him, Harry affected a nonchalant stance and said casually, "Something from Slytherin? I guess the Sword of Gryffindor is better anyway." He made to stand up. "Anyway, we won't take up any more of your valuable time, Professor Slughorn."

"Nonsense, please stay, dear Harry." Slughorn made shooing motions with his hands. "Merlin knows hardly anyone visits me. Everyone is too busy revising and no one cares for the company of an old wizard like me."

"If you are sure…" Harry said dubitatively as he sat down again.

"I'm sure, dear boy." Slughorn grabbed a bowl with sweets and handed it to him.

Harry's eyes widened at the sight of four candy canes shaped just like letters of the alphabet which together spelled the word 'LOVE'.

Slughorn chuckled. "Pardon the eccentricities of an old fool like me, Harry. It is just that Professor Trelawney was here yesterday and I wanted to impress her with a simple nonverbal spell."

Harry shrugged as he picked up the sweet shaped like an L and then passed the bowl to Draco.

While the two students sucked their candy, Slughorn walked to his desk and sat on a chair.

"I have heard about the Slytherin chalice," Draco said cautiously, trying to concentrate his errant thoughts on the matter at hand and not get distracted by Harry's pouty lips wrapped around the thick candy cane. It was hard, though.

"I suppose you would have, Malfoy." Slughorn nodded. "It's an ancient relic from the time of the Founders."

"I think the magic Godric imbued in his Sword is more powerful," Harry said defiantly, his gaze floating to the vials on the shelves above him, seeking to forget the tongue peeking out from between rosy lips as Draco avidly sucked his sweet.

Slughorn crossed his hands over his paunch and reclined on the chair, blissfully unaware of the students' wicked thoughts. "Legend holds that Godric and Salazar were equally powerful, but the point is moot because what matters is not the magic involved, but _when_ it was cast."

Harry frowned in confusion. "When?"

"Indeed, dear boy," Slughorn said. "I'm sure you're aware that magic seemingly pools in certain places like the Forbidden Forest, Hogwarts itself, and of course Diagon Alley."

Harry nodded slowly. "I know."

"What you may not know is that magic is at its strongest at certain times." As he spoke, Slughorn ticked off on his fingers, "When the Founders built Hogwarts and cast all that wonderful magic on items like the Chamber of Secrets, the Sorting Hat, the Sword of Gryffindor, and the Slytherin Chalice; the moment when Tom Riddle Jr. became Voldemort; and of course, the year you were born – all these occasions were imbued with strength partly due to the moment they happened."

Harry's brow furrowed as he considered this.

"This concept, it sounds similar to what a centaur would say," Draco said thoughtfully.

Slughorn nodded curtly. "That is correct, Malfoy. The centaurs' whole philosophy of gazing at the sky and drawing conclusions from it is based on the tenet that what lies above is reflected below, that there's a connection between the heavens and us." He chuckled as he raised his hands, hooking his fingers around the nape of his neck. "Actually, Sybill and I recently talked about synchronicity in regard to the centaurs and her own astounding talent."

"Synchronicity?" Harry said doubtfully, making the mental note to look up that word.

"Yes, the concept of meaningful coincidence. Sybill explained it thus: seemingly random things that we perceive in a haphazard fashion may imply a hidden pattern which we dimly perceive. It becomes clear in the future."

"I see; but what does it have to do with the Slytherin chalice?" Harry said.

"This meaningful coincidence? It caused all that wonderful magic to flow at that time and the Chalice is the stronger for it," Slughorn said forcefully. "It is said the Chalice can be used to strengthen wards or destroy them. Indeed, Salazar's purpose in creating it may have been to bypass the strong wards Godric, Rowena, and Helga cast on the school."

Harry nodded and leaned forward to grab another candy. "So magic flows and ebbs, and it's more powerful in certain years?"

"Yes, it seems there are tides of magic," Slughorn said. "Sybill admits that's the reason her powers lay dormant for so long, until the moment was ripe and you appeared on the school, my boy."

Harry sucked thoughtfully on his candy, unaware of Draco's heated gaze directed his way.

Then Harry was distracted by the glow coming from beneath the chair. He tipped down his chin and his eyes widened as a ghostly silver shape darted towards the desk. It turned gracefully to face him, and Harry's heart beat faster when he recognized the silver otter that was Hermione's Patronus.

The ghostly otter stared at him and delivered her message, "Harry, I need to talk to you and Draco. It's Luna; she is very nervous, she's afraid Romilda and Zacharias are after her. It baffles me because she's usually so laid back!"


	17. Mulled wine

_**AN: **Thank you very much for the kind support!_

* * *

><p><strong>Winter 2018<strong>

Harry walked up to the door and knocked softly, calmed by the warm presence of Draco by his side. It had taken a lot of persuading, but finally his husband listened to him and decided to visit Hermione and Ron for what they hoped would be a relaxing evening.

"Hermione's home always smells wonderful." Draco's nostrils flared as he smelled the mix of sage and lavender coming from inside. He was carefully cradling their gift, a bottle of wine.

"She uses these special sachets…" Harry trailed off when the door opened, and Hermione's warm arms enveloped him in a tight hug.

"So happy you could come," she mumbled against Harry's neck. Then she hugged Draco and motioned them inside.

"Here's our gift," Draco drawled, giving her a shallow bow as he presented the wine. "Since Ron told me you've prepared salmon, it's a Chablis my parents brought from Burgundy."

"Very thoughtful of you two." Hermione smiled at him and raised her hand to point at the dining table. "You can put it there. Dinner's almost ready."

"Ron's coming later," Harry said. "He just has to tie the loose ends of a report."

"Yes, I know. He sent a Patronus message." Hermione placed her hand over Harry's elbow and the three stepped into the parlor, where a cozy fire bathed the room in warmth.

"It smells wonderful." Harry took a deep breath, enjoying the delightful scent of oranges, lemons, cloves, and cinnamon coming from the bowl on the table. He could see apples, oranges, and slices of fruit bobbing on the mulled wine.

Hermione pointed at the glasses next to the bowl. "Would you like some wine? Luna and Neville are coming over soon. Neville flooed me and said he'd be late." She shrugged. "He's busy at Hogwarts."

"I love your mulled wine," Harry said, walking towards the table. "Love the cloved oranges too."

"Mum gave me her recipe." Hermione picked a glass and the spoon and ladled the wine carefully.

Meanwhile, Draco had placed their gift on the table and his brow furrowed when he noticed a dog-eared book. He bent down and read the words on the spine.

"You're reading _Through the looking glass_ by Lewis Carroll?" he arched his eyebrow at her.

"Here," Hermione said, handing him a glass of wine. She thrust her chin at the book. "I was in the midst of re-reading that for the sixth or seventh time. I find it extremely relaxing after a bout of intense concentration. I researched the whole night through."

"The wards giving you trouble, huh?" Harry said between sips of the hot, spicy wine.

"You can say that." Hermione nodded as she walked to the couch, flanked by the two of them. She sat down on the corner and cradled the glass of hot wine between her palms. "It's a race against time. Luckily the Hogwarts wards, anchored by the Slytherin chalice, have been able to resist thus far the Muggle probing, but I'm afraid we lost Hogsmeade. That's the reason Neville is late; he's trying to salvage the situation as much as he can."

Draco nodded somberly. "He flooed me too. Of course Hogwarts is open to the refugees from the village, but this situation poses grave risks."

"It does." Hermione glanced down at the book. "Anyway, as I was saying, the book frees my mind." She frowned. "The funny thing is that the words I was just reading remind me of our situation with owling our younger selves."

"How so?" Harry said, and sipped the hot wine.

"It's something the White Queen says to Alice," Hermione said slowly. "'_It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards_.'"

"I can see the connection, since we're sending information to the past," Harry said.

"If only our memory worked forwards!" Draco sighed deeply, snuggling into Harry's body.

"Actually, that could explain the prophecies." Hermione creased her brow in thought. "Perhaps the brains of those Seers are wired differently in such a way that there are brief moments when their memory works forwards."

"I had a thought about Seers." Draco delicately sipped his wine and then said, "That they could provide some insight to guide us; I even contacted Neville, but there hasn't been a peep from Trelawney in recent years."

"It resembles some ebb in the magic that fuels her prophecies," Harry said warily, turning his head to glance at Draco. "It certainly brings to mind our conversation with Slughorn; remember?"

Draco nodded.

"You two told me about it, but at the time the information seemed a bit whimsical," Hermione said.

Harry gulped down his drink and bent down to place the glass on the table.

"Do you want more?" Hermione said.

"No, thanks." Harry put his hand on Draco's thigh and thrust his chin at the bowl of wine. "It kind of reminds me of Romilda Vane."

"Why?" Draco said.

"It's something McGonagall said." Harry tilted up his chin to glance at the ceiling. "During her interrogation it turned out she intended to pour a love potion into the mulled wine."

"That girl was obsessed with you," Draco huffed. "Zacharias Smith too. I do understand them though, you looked hot in those days."

"Not anymore?" Harry pouted, feigning distress.

"You always look hot to me." Draco's thumb rubbed circles on Harry's tanned wrist.

Hermione sipped her drink, a smile tugging up the corners of her lips as she looked at them. "Whatever happened to Romilda, though?"

"I don't know," Harry said. "She disappeared after her expulsion from Hogwarts, just like Smith did. I've taken a look in the Auror files, but there's been no mention of them."

Hermione glanced up at the knocking sounds from the door and stood up. "Excuse me; it must be Luna and Neville."

Harry nodded and snuggled into the couch, his body and mind soothed by the warmth from the fireplace and Draco.

"Vane was driven mad with unrequited lust," Draco said.

"She seemed such a flighty witch." Harry shook his head, lost in remembrance. "Giggling at everything, and then she turned into this mini Bellatrix."

Draco shuddered. "Don't remind me of my late aunt."

"Sorry, I know the memories can be hard to bear even after twenty years," Harry said contritely.

"You can make it up to me, you know." Draco wiggled his eyebrows at Harry and mouthed, _'Parseltongue.'_

Harry nodded at Neville, who was stepping into the parlor, Luna by his side. Then he smirked as the present worries they faced lifted momentarily at the prospect of pleasing Draco. He noticed from the corners of his eyes the long, metallic handle of the spoon nestled against the bowl of wine and concentrated on it because it resembled a long snake.

_"After this ssstuff blowsss over,"_ Harry hissed, delighted to feel Draco's body shivering against him and see pupils bereft of grey as lust overwhelmed the Slytherin. _"We need to take a ssssensssual holiday."_

When she heard the hissing sounds, Luna shuddered violently. Neville glanced down in alarm and wrapped his arms around her willowy figure. "What is it, dear?"

Harry stopped and looked up at them. "It's just Parseltongue."

"I'm fine," Luna said, recovering her poise. She shot them a weak smile and sat down on the loveseat next to the couch. "It's just than when you hissed like that, it reminded me of…"

"The time after we caught Romilda." Harry shrugged guiltily. Then he nodded at Neville, whose lanky frame seemed untouched by the passage of time. It seemed his tenure as Headmaster of Hogwarts had proved most congenial. "It's good to see you, Neville."

Neville smiled at them. "Nice to see you, Harry and Draco." He took his seat next to Luna and turned to her. "What was that all about?"

"Sorry, Neville,I forgot you weren't there," Luna said, nodding at Hermione when she handed her a glass of mulled wine.

"Eighth Year, wasn't it?" Neville nodded his thanks at Hermione and took the glass she proffered.

Luna sipped the hot wine and relaxed against Neville's warm body. "Yes, it was right after the Headmistress took Romilda away. I was restless that night, it was cold and I knew I wouldn't sleep well, so I went out of the Common Room."

"And then what happened?" Neville wrapped his fingers around her wrist, his thumb rubbing the juncture of her thumb and fingers.

"I was looking for the Nargles," Luna explained. "They always seem to calm me down, but when I was making my way to the Second Floor, I heard hissing noises from inside the walls."

"You did?" Neville said.

"At first I thought they were Wallywacops, but they sounded hollow, like they were underwater." Luna took a fortifying sip of the wine and went on. "I went down the corridor, but the hissing sounds followed me."

"Maybe they were Cornish pixies," Neville said.

"No, they were too similar to the sounds I heard in Second Year, right after I met Colin Creevey when I was going to the kitchen," Luna said.

"You've heard those sounds before." Harry glanced at Luna. "You told us, remember? You spoke to us after Hermione contacted us."

"I did hear those sounds the day Mrs. Norris was found," Luna said dreamily and then took another sip of wine. "I was looking for my trainers; the other Ravenclaws hid them and told me they were on the Third Floor."

"I bet you were scared." Neville wrapped his arm around Luna's shoulder.

"I was afraid," Luna said in a low voice. "That night in Eighth Year, all sort of rumors floated around in the Ravenclaw Common Room concerning Romilda and Zacharias. They even said they had become dark wizards who wanted to ensnare Harry in an effort to resuscitate Voldemort."

"You said you thought they were after you," Draco said firmly.

"Exactly." Luna nodded. "I thought the students had noticed we were a close-knit group, and Romilda and Zacharias may have wanted to strike at you through me."

"I'm glad none of this turned out to be true." Neville smiled reassuringly at Luna, his hand rubbing calming circles on her shoulders.

"Nevertheless, it left me with a bad memory." Luna sighed.

"I'm here for you," Neville said, and then his brow wrinkled in a frown. "There's something disquieting about your description of the sounds, though."

Luna sighed and raised the glass to sip the wine.

"Remember when you told us about your adventures in Second Year?" Neville glanced at Harry, who nodded slowly.

Hermione sipped her wine, a pensive expression on her face. It seemed Neville would arrive at the same conclusions they had, all those years ago.

"The hissing noises she heard in Eighth Year are like those from inside the walls right after Luna met Colin, and the day Mrs. Norris was found, frozen like a stone." Neville glanced at them. "Luna's description fits the pattern of the Basilisk."


	18. Christmas card

**Winter 1998**

"Basilisk?" Harry said, rubbing his forehead. He shot out of the chair and started pacing to and fro in the aisle between the rows of benches in their secret room.

"It's the only explanation that fits," Ron said calmly and then cocked his head at Luna, who sat on the desk. "Those hissing sounds coming from inside the walls? You told me about them in Second Year."

"But the Basilisk is dead; I killed it with the Sword of Gryffindor!" Harry made a fist and punched his open palm.

Luna shivered at the sound of flesh striking flesh, and keen grey eyes noticed the lines of fatigue on her alabaster skin. Draco stepped towards her and gently patted her shoulder. "Those sounds scared you, didn't they?"

Luna tilted up her chin, her snowy hair falling in a curtain across her shoulder as she gave him a weak grin. "It's just that… I'm used to the growling of the Nargles, the booming clopping sounds of the Crumpled-Horned Snorkacks and other animals, but not hissing sounds from inside the walls of Hogwarts. I don't want Romilda and Zacharias to use me in order to get to Harry."

"They won't, Luna. The Aurors should be interrogating them right now," Hermione said soothingly, her brow creased in confusion at Draco's unusually gentle behavior. "We'll make sure there's nothing threatening you in the castle."

"We certainly will." Harry shrugged an apology to his Ravenclaw friend. "And when we visited the Chamber the other day to place the Slytherin chalice, I didn't notice anything strange."

"But we weren't looking closely," Ron said, cupping his chin. "We just dashed in and out."

"Well, we'd better go back and search more carefully for any traces of the Basilisk." Harry narrowed his eyes at the door.

"Fine, mate." Ron stood up and made his way out of the room. "We can use the passage we discovered this summer."

"Which passage?" Hermione said.

"It's an old corridor deep in the Slytherin dungeons." Harry walked up to Ron and clapped his shoulder. "We found it during the renovation of Hogwarts. It leads to magical tunnels that go to the Chamber, so we don't have to use Myrtle's bathroom."

"Good, I'm going with you," Hermione said.

"So am I," Luna said firmly.

Pausing at the threshold, Draco turned to look at her, noting the lack of her usual dreamy gaze. "Are you sure, Lovegood? You'd be safer here."

Draco was worried about Luna's safety, wanting to preserve the lucid quality that shone in her face, her wide-eyed gaze as she beheld the world.

"Draco's right." Harry stopped and turned to face them. "If we find anything strange, you could be hurt."

"I'm sure," Luna said gently. "It can't be worse than the Final Battle, and I lived through that."

"Ok then." Harry flashed her a brief smile. "We'll find out if there's anything untoward down there."

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

Draco fastidiously brushed the dust off his shoulders. "This route winds this way and that, I prefer the other way."

Ron rolled his eyes and gazed back at the tunnel. "The tunnel's easier, unless you prefer talking to Myrtle?"

"No, thanks." Draco shot him a smirk.

Harry stopped in front of the entrance to the Chamber, ready to speak Parseltongue to open it, but then Hermione walked up to him, her fingers curled around a strap from which two small cups dangled.

Harry looked down, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Are those glasses?"

"They are infrared goggles." Hermione handed them over and pulled out another pair from her pocket. "We won't use_ Lumos_ or torches to search for any Basilisks; in the dark it can't kill us with its deadly eyes."

Harry donned his goggles and raised his gaze to look at the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. It glimmered strangely, the rim of the door outlined in a brighter shade than the rest which the goggles hardly perceived.

"Open." Harry spoke in Parseltongue; and from the corners of his eyes he noticed Draco's shudder. Watching Draco through the goggles, Harry made the interesting discovery that certain places of his boyfriend's body shined brighter, namely his cheeks and his groin.

Harry bit back a moan at that, deciding to explore Draco's Parseltongue kink when things were more settled. Then he swiveled his chin and glanced at the darkness beyond the door, noting a thin beam of light that shot upwards from the floor.

"That's where the Slytherin Chalice is," said Hermione reverently, raising her hand to point at the beam in the center of the Chamber. "The anchor for the wards."

Harry tilted up his chin and glanced at the ceiling which was crisscrossed by bright filaments of light intertwining near the center. The resulting thick beam sunk to the floor and then spread in thin lines towards the distant walls like the spokes of a wheel. All these magic threads connected to the glowing silver speck jutting from the floor which was the Slytherin Chalice.

Harry stepped into the Chamber, Ron by his side. Two ghostly shapes he caught when he glanced sideways told him Draco was staying by Luna's side; finally, Hermione brought up the rear, her wand raised in a fighting stance.

The five of them spent two hours searching for a telltale sign of the presence of the fabled Basilisk but it was in vain. Hermione even cast a spell to detect reptilian scales which turned up negative results.

Finally, the wizards and witches made their weary journey back to the school, heading towards Gryffindor Tower to rest for a while.

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

"It's four days until Christmas," Luna said, lifting her gaze from the upside down Quidditch magazine she was reading.

"Time passed quite fast," Harry mumbled as he glanced at the floor, realizing he hadn't bought any gifts for Draco; what with setting up the wards and the trouble with Smith and Romilda, it had totally escaped his mind.

"Time always does; that's why I intend to revise as long as I can," Hermione said, looking up from the Advanced Runes book she was reading. She was leaning against Ron, legs tucked under her body as she studied.

"Reckon I'll use the Floo to visit Mum and Dad on Christmas. You, Hermione, and Luna are invited." Ron shrugged, his right arm draped around Hermione's shoulder. He thrust his chin at Draco. "And you too, Malfoy."

"Thanks, Weasley," Draco said stiffly, his fingers brushing the curls at the nape of Harry's neck. "Mother wants me to visit, but I appreciate the gesture."

"Dad added a new room to the house." Luna raised her gaze from the magazine and shot Ron a grin. "But it'll be fun to spend some time with you after I'm done chasing Heliopaths from the house."

Draco turned his head to exchange a glance with Harry. "I want to spend Christmas with you, and I know you're more comfortable with the Weasleys. I don't want to put any pressure on you."

Harry beamed at him, appreciating the gesture. "I'd rather be with Ron and his family. Maybe next year…" To be truthful, Harry dreaded facing Lucius' ire if Draco showed up at Christmas with his new boyfriend.

"Of course."

Harry almost shot out of the couch at the pecking sounds at the window. Noticing the owl hovering outside, he felt sure it was Chronus with another letter from the future.

"What now?" mumbled Draco as he pulled out his wand and cast a spell to open the window. A barn owl flew into the Gryffindor Common Room, hooting softly as it swooped down towards Harry.

"Do you have any treats?" Harry asked Draco as the owl landed on his shoulder. Draco nodded and then handed him the treats he had fished out from his pocket.

Harry gave them to the owl and untied the ribbon around the claw. It was a white envelope, quite normal by its looks. He grabbed a corner and carefully tore it open. Pulling a Christmas card from the envelope, Harry's cheeks were tinged with red when he saw the drawing, depicting three Christmas ornaments with different colors: yellow, purple, and red. A smile tugged up the corners of his lips at the message written below 'I like your balls'.

"Nice card, Draco." He shot a smile at his boyfriend.

"What?" Draco frowned. "I haven't sent you any card."

His heart beating madly at those words, Harry flipped open the card and read the words scrawled inside.

_We love you, Harry. You haven't seen the last of us. Rest assured we'll be thinking of you._

_Romilda and Zacharias_

"What is it, Harry?" Hermione said in a low voice. "You look so pale."

Harry handed Draco the note, the Slytherin spluttering in indignation as he read it.

"Merlin's blue balls, what's the meaning of this?" Draco growled low in his chest and leaned down to pass the card to Hermione and Ron.

"Those gits! Who the hell do they think they are?" Ron said loudly, handing the card to Hermione.

Shaking her head, Hermione's voice was filled with indignation. "I can't believe their gall, sending this card to taunt us!" Then she mumbled low under her breath, "But Zacharias and Romilda are in Auror custody, it's hardly possible that they could have sent the card."

"Unless they escaped," Luna pointed out.

"But how?" Draco said. "The wards around the Ministry should be impregnable."

"Only one way to find out." Harry extricated himself from his boyfriend's embrace and stood up, making his way to the chimney. "I'll Floo Shacklebolt."

Draco fidgeted, his shoes scuffing the stone floor while Harry made the call. Remembering the time he had spent in Auror custody just before his Wizengamot trial, he knew it was impossible to escape.

Finally, Harry returned to the couch, shaking his head wearily as he sat down next to Draco.

"What does he say?" Luna arched her eyebrow at him.

"Shacklebolt is quite puzzled," Harry said slowly. "The Aurors thought Smith and Romilda weren't being cooperative and placed them in holding cells, but when they were doing their rounds, the guards found the cells empty."

"I don't like this, mate," Ron whispered.

"The wards around the holding cells are very strong," Draco said. "As strong as those in Azkaban, one Auror told me when I was there."

"How did they manage that?" Hermione huffed. "Those two aren't magically skilled at all."

Draco leaned down to pick the card, hefting it carefully as he glanced at Hermione. "We could go to Scrivenshaft's and find out when they sold it."

Hermione shook her head energetically, her curls spreading in a lazy arc framing her face. "That's a Muggle card, Draco. It's mass-produced so there are millions of them, impossible to track."

"Millions of them?" Draco scoffed. "Muggles must owl lots of cards every day…"

Hermione decided not to correct Draco's assumptions about Muggle mail when she noticed the way he shuddered, his mouth tight in a moue of surprise.

"Merlin!" Draco closed his eyes, his fingers gripping tightly the card. "We've been such fools!"

"Why?" Ron said tightly.

"Hermione, pass me a parchment and your quill, will you?" Draco said urgently.

"Malfoy, what is it?" Hermione gave Draco a clean parchment and her quill, and he bent down to write on the table in front of him.

"Draco, what are you on about? Merlin, tell us!" Harry said in a loud voice.

Draco took a deep breath and looked right into Harry's eyes. "Don't you see it? It should be obvious."

"See what?" Harry said wonderingly, his patience about to run out in the face of Draco's lack of explanations.

"Lots of cards, lots of mail," Draco mumbled under his breath, and then he said clearly, "We've been such idiots in believing we are the only privileged ones!"

"Privileged? How?" Luna shot him a wary glance. "Please tell us what has surprised you so."

"Privileged in communicating with the future," Draco said slowly. "If Chronus can reach us, other owls surely can get to other wizards. We must not assume we're the only ones privy to information from the future."

"You think Romilda and Smith have been communicating with their future selves?" Harry said, a knot forming on his throat at the daunting scenario.

"With their future selves or someone else." Hermione narrowed her eyes at the ominous Christmas card on the table.

"And that's why the gits so easily bypassed the Auror wards!" Ron said, his face scrunched up in indignation.

"We must let our future selves know," Draco muttered as he wrote on the parchment. "They are the ones that started owling us and know better how it works."


	19. Crumbling mince pie

**Winter 2018**

Harry fed the treat to the Eagle owl and untied the letter. Then he motioned for Hermione, Luna, and Draco to get closer. The four had been discussing the situation at Hogsmeade when Chronus appeared, his wings flashing in kaleidoscopic colors for a few seconds before they returned to their mottled brown shade.

As he sat down, Harry tipped up his chin and gave Hermione a wary look. He cocked his head at the owl. "Is he suffering from all that time-traveling? The owl seems to glimmer more every time."

"When Chronus flies through the wards, the owl is subjected to the effects of entropy rushing backwards, plus a mix of exotic particles and magic." Hermione let out a small sigh. "They surround his body when he travels through time, but the effect does fade after a while. He could be getting younger, though."

"Good." Harry settled into his chair, his gaze drifting to the portraits of former Ministers of Magic that dotted the conference room in the deepest floor of the Ministry. The wards around the Ministry having been compromised by Muggle listening devices, this was the only safe place they could meet to plan their maneuvers. Time was running out, and he and Draco had interrupted their breakfast so they could plan a counterattack.

His fingers brushing the soft vellum, Harry lowered his gaze to read the missive.

"What is it, Harry?" Draco knew from the way Harry's face tightened that the news was bad.

Harry took a deep breath and put the parchment on the oak table, his fingers nervously drumming against the wood. "Your past self informs me that Smith and Vane escaped. This was written a few days before Christmas, remember?"

"I do, but it turned out…"

Harry held up his hand to interrupt him. "They've come to the conclusion that Smith was informed of events by someone in our time."

Hermione gazed at the owl, perched on the chair behind Harry. "They must be sending letters, too."

"It explains why Romilda and Zacharias vanished completely, even though the Aurors had placed Tracing charms on them." Luna tilted up her chin, her gaze floating to the ceiling.

"So all this time, Vane and Smith have been sending their past versions information from our present," Draco said through gritted teeth.

"Or someone else has done that," Luna said ominously.

"It's why the Muggles react so fast to our measures like improving the wards!" Hermione said agitatedly. "No matter what we do, they catch up very fast." She hunched her shoulders, staring forlornly at her reports. "And I thought it was Muggle software and super computers helping them."

"That bloke at the Hogsmeade Post Office said other people had received letters in the past." Harry's fingers unconsciously brushed his sleeve, the satisfying bulge of the holster with his wand reassuring him.

"We could talk with this man; find out more about the other people." Luna leaned forward, her grey eyes fixed on her friends, a veneer of determination stamped on her usually dreamy features.

"We can't, Luna," Draco said tiredly, raising his hand to brush his fingers through his hair in exasperation. "Hogsmeade has been occupied by the Muggle Army, and there's no mention of this man in the Hogwarts list of refugees Neville compiled."

Draco lowered his eyes to the crumbling mince pie on the plate and pushed it away with a sigh. It was delicious, Mrs. Weasley's own recipe. She had baked a whole batch and Harry had brought home a baker's dozen, aware of Draco's sweet tooth.

"I'll set up surveillance around Hogwarts; Aurors will report any disturbance of the wards," Harry said, his mouth pursed in a thin line.

"It won't be enough." A sigh escaped Draco's lips. "We need the Unspeakables, Luna."

Luna nodded energetically. "At the moment our resources are stretched thin; dark wizards want to capitalize on the chaos as the wizarding world regroups, but we can spare seven or eight."

Draco fixed his keen gaze on Hermione. "How much longer before the Hogwarts wards collapse? If we lose the school with all the magic and knowledge our ancestors managed to gather during a thousand years…"

"The wards won't collapse," Hermione said in a small voice, her fingers playing with the buttons of her tweed jacket. Remembering all the effort and ingenuity she had poured into the design of the wards, she straightened her shoulders and continued in a firm voice. "They won't break like they did in the Final Battle when Voldemort attacked. They're designed in such a way that under bombardment of magic, strange wavelengths, or any untoward combination thereof, they will contract instead and thus become more resilient. Let me show you."

Hermione pulled out her wand and deftly cast a spell. Instantly, an image of Hogwarts and environs hovered over the conference table, covered by a smoky dome.

"The wards could not withstand all the Muggle interference along the perimeter," Hermione said briskly. Swishing her wand at the map, she caused the dome to shrink until it covered only the castle. "Originally they included Hogsmeade, but under all the stress they shrank to their current size. Theoretically, under enormous strain they will keep contracting until they only protect the Chamber of Secrets where the main anchor lies, which as you know is the Slytherin Chalice."

"So we have some time." Draco nodded solemnly.

"It's all the strain caused by the Muggle interference that's affecting the wards," Hermione muttered. "I wish my idea had panned out, but it didn't."

"What idea?" Harry said.

Hermione turned to face Draco. "Remember you told me what your father said when you retrieved the Chalice?"

"It was so long ago." Draco's brow furrowed in puzzlement. "Something about time?"

"It was the legend about using the Slytherin Chalice to travel through time." Hermione nodded. "Brainstorming, I came up with the idea to relieve the stress placed upon the wards by having them stretch a little through time, towards the future and past, like a rubber band."

"A rubber what?" Draco frowned.

"Forget it, it's a Muggle thing." Hermione waved her hand. "It was a harebrained scheme that didn't work, anyway. There was something missing in the runes and incantations that baffled me. If only… if only I had…"

Draco gave her a sharp look, denoting his pride in her. "You did your best, Hermione, and your wards have kept Hogwarts safe for us. The Ministry is honored to have your invaluable work."

"Thanks, but..." Hermione stopped at the sound of the door being opened. Mrs. Havendish leaned forward into the room and looked at Draco. "Excuse me, Minister Malfoy, but the Wizengamot vote is coming up."

"I'll be right over; thank you." Draco stood up and fished out his wand. "There are three wizards I have yet to convince; if I manage that feat, we should be able to push the measures through."

Harry shot him a reassuring smile. "Time to pour on the Malfoy charm."

"Indeed." Draco grinned at him. "I'll probably be late, so don't stay up on my account."

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

Harry rubbed his forehead as he stared at the reports; thankful for the privacy of his office as he felt a headache coming up.

He glanced up as a silvery glow darted through the wall. The ghostly shape of a horse stood in front of him, pawing the ground with its hooves as the Patronus delivered the message.

"Head Auror Potter, this is Auror Adkinson on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. We've caught something strange. There are no owls flying around, but our spells show recent traces of the Disillusionment charm, and eyewitness reports mention a man glowing in the manner you spoke of."

The silvery horse reared on its forelegs and then trotted away.

As he pulled out his wand to Apparate to the Forbidden Forest, Harry silently thanked his natural instincts, honed through years of hard work as a field Auror as he climbed through the ranks. He had the gut feeling that if anyone was communicating with the past, they might not only use the Owl Post, but they might actually resort to flying through the wards, aping the owls.

He arrived at the Forest, the ominous silence in the late evening oppressive rather than comforting.

After listening to Adkinson, Harry ordered a tightened perimeter guard. Aurors and Unspeakables standing guard along the borders of the Forbidden Forest and Hogsmeade would alert him of any intrusion.

He pulled out a tiny broom and enlarged it, walking towards a copse of trees as he glanced down at his gleaming racing broom that was Draco's Christmas gift. Harry leaned against the trunk of the tree and fixed his gaze on the horizon, expecting a long vigil. Most of an Auror work consisted of just such long watches, after all.

It wasn't long before an irregular hooting sound alerted Harry that the suspect had been sighted. Sure enough, when he raised his gaze to the cloudy sky he noticed a speck flying over the forest. He cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and climbed on his broom, easily shooting upwards as he sought to fly under cover of the woods as long as he could.

Smith apparently felt he was safe, for he paid no mind to his surroundings while Harry trailed him like a bird of prey. Glancing up, Harry noticed the thick cloud cover and tilted down his hips so the broom would have a steeper angle. His knees gripping tightly the wood, Harry gracefully rose in the air until he disappeared into the clouds.

He lost sight of Smith for a few seconds as he planned his strategy; then the corners of his lips twisted in a smirk that would make Draco pale with envy as he thought of the perfect way to tackle Smith, a variant of the Wronski Feint.

Harry leaned forward, the broom tipping down as he shifted his center of gravity. The broom shot downwards, slicing through the cloud like it had the consistency of fairy wings.

He narrowed his eyes at the tiny figure of Smith flying below and in front of him. Harry grinned madly as Smith finally glanced up and noticed him, spurring his broom as he tried to escape. It was too no avail; Harry's broom was flying fast enough to overtake him, and the Head Auror swooped down towards his former classmate.

The broom bobbed sideways due to wind turbulence, and just as he was close enough to reach down and pull on the twigs of Smith's broom, Harry shuddered as his vision constricted to a narrow tunnel whose walls resembled shimmering liquid. For a moment, Harry felt as if he was trapped in Snape's cauldron, a strange mix of multicolored liquids swirling around him as the Potions Master stirred the brew.

The moment passed soon, though, and Harry was able to nudge Smith's broom in such a way that it tipped down as they were approaching the Hogwarts lawn. Harry tipped his own broom slightly, grabbing Smith's cloak as the ground loomed nearer.

Zacharias screamed as they fell into a heap into the snow-covered ground. Thankfully, the snow was so thick that it softened Harry's fall.

Harry gripped Smith's shoulders as they tumbled together a few times until they finally came to a halt in front of a hedge.

Disregarding Smith's moaning, Harry crouched above him, fingers tight around his neck as he glanced up at the familiar Hogwarts terrain.

Only this time it wasn't so familiar. The landscape was subtly altered, the line of trees changed somehow. There was a hut twenty yards to his right that Harry could have sworn had been taken down years before.

So this meant he was back in the past, Harry realized with a heartfelt sigh.

He took out his wand and stood up, casting _Incarcerous_ at the miscreant. Then Harry's eyes widened at the sight of a heavily bundled wizard approaching him. Harry knew by heart the dashing silhouette clad in black robes, tufts of blond hair peeking from beneath a fur hat.

"Hello, Draco." Harry shot him a tremulous smile, unsure of how to greet the younger version of the wizard he had fallen in love with so many years ago.


	20. Yule log

Draco's brow furrowed in the expression of confusion Harry knew so well. He blinked slowly, seemingly quite unsure if what he was seeing was real.

It was Zacharias Smith's indignant mumbling that took his attention away from Harry.

"Bloody fool!" Smith glared up at Harry as he tried to stand up. "Why did you have to knock me down?"

Draco swiftly pulled out his wand and brandished it towards Smith as a smirk pulled up the corners of his lips. "Merlin, prats like you do age badly, Smith. Just look at yourself!"

"Lemme go!" Smith twisted his body, desperately trying to escape the clutches of the ropes tightening around his torso and legs. "Lemme go!"

"Are you alright? I trust catching Smith wasn't too difficult." Draco shot Harry a grateful look, brandishing his wand to cast a Warming Charm on the three of them. It was freezing out there.

"Nope, wasn't difficult at all," Harry said gruffly, overcome by Draco's nearness. He had forgotten how stunning young Draco was, Harry realized as he covertly cast lustful glances at his silky blond hair, unlined face, and slim body. "Matter of fact, I used a version of the Wronski Feint."

"That must have been quite a sight." Draco licked his lips at the sight of Harry's tanned face. He looked a bit stockier, his hair lustrous as ever, even if it had sprinkles of grey in it.

"You stupid prats!" growled Smith.

Draco nudged Smith with the tip of his boot before he bent down to crouch above his writhing body. "Now tell us, where is Vane?"

Smith gasped; his lanky frame stock still before he shuddered. "Don't mention her! Poor Romilda is… dead."

"I'm sorry." Harry bent down, his green eyes conveying all the sympathy he could muster. Even if Romilda had behaved wickedly, he could empathize with Zacharias' feelings. "How did it happen?"

"Romy and I ran to the Muggle world and tried to hide in it," Smith mumbled in a despondent voice. "The Aurors were after us and we couldn't contact our families. Romy…" He gulped. "Turned out to be a bright girl. We moved to Ireland and while I worked as a reporter for a local Muggle paper, Romilda went to University. She got a degree in Computer Science and got a good job."

The woeful tone of Smith's voice when he spoke about Romilda hinted at his feelings, so Draco fixed him with a probing stare. "You loved her, right?"

Smith closed his eyelids and two lonely teardrops fell from his eyes, running down his cheeks until they fell to join the snow. "She was feisty, independent and willful, and we had our obsession with Harry in common. We slowly fell in love, and with the money she had saved from her job she founded a software company, Cyclops. When we had enough money in the bank, we got married."

Harry leaned forward and awkwardly patted his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I know what it feels to lose a loved one."

"You would, wouldn't you?" Smith said, his voice wrecked as he stole a glance at Draco, and then he let out a mournful sigh.

"So what happened to her?" Harry said. "If you don't mind my asking."

"Her company flourished, she was a whiz at dabbling with all those zeros and ones, but one day a car hit her. They rushed her to the hospital and the day after the operation, the doctors told me the damage was too great." Smith spoke in a tight, controlled monotone voice, as if afraid to let go and express his grief. "They did all they could to save her - money was no problem - but it was in vain."

"Didn't you try to go to St. Mungo's?" Draco said slowly, his gaze soft as it fell on Smith.

"I brought Healers to see her." Smith shrugged listlessly. "They examined her but the result was the same; there was no magical cure or potions that would save her."

"So why did you turn against the wizarding world?" Harry patted Smith's shoulder, knowing he could glean more information from a cooperative Smith.

"Don't you see, Harry?" Smith shrugged. "The wizarding world chased us out, kept us from our families." Then he said through gritted teeth, "Worst of all, they couldn't save Romy. What's the good of all that useless magic when it couldn't save my wife? Magic deserves to be stamped out!"

"So you used the company to develop software that would expose us?" Harry said wonderingly.

"That's right. It worked pretty well."

"When did you start sending letters to the past?" Draco said softly.

"I heard a rumor in Dublin about the strange behavior of the Hogwarts wards. I came here incognito and sent an owl to… Romilda." He shivered violently, and Draco exchanged a glance with Harry before waving his wand and freeing Smith from the ropes.

"You wrote to her," Harry repeated tonelessly, recalling with a shudder Luna's words about visiting his office in a time stream where he had lost his Draco. Harry knew he would behave in the same fashion, and wondered for a brief instant if that was the reason he had started sending letters to the past.

"Told her some tidbits, helped her get a good start on things," Smith sat up on the snow, raising his hand to rub his cold knuckles against his wet cheeks. "Guess it was mostly an excuse for talking to her." Smith cocked his head at the castle. "Grabbed the chance to hop on a broom and visit Hogwarts here in the past just to see her face one more time." Pained sobs wracked his body as Smith hid his face between his palms.

"Come on, up you go. You're freezing here." Draco tugged on Smith's arm to lift him up and the wizard readily complied.

Draco's open palm gently shoved Smith's back so he ended up facing the castle. "We'll go to McGonagall. I'm sure she'll provide good advice and a way to improve things." He turned to Harry then. "Please wait for me here, Harry. If you come inside and the students see you, it'll create a lot of confusion."

"Of course," Harry said.

Draco nodded at him and started trudging in the snow, Smith by his side.

Harry crossed his arms and watched their dark silhouettes dwindling in the distance as they made their way to the castle. With a sigh, he cast another Warming Spell on himself and then bent down to grab his broom before walking towards a copse of trees, where he leaned his back against a sturdy oak.

Snowflakes were beginning to fall when he saw Draco, his shoulders hunched against the cold wind as he trudged through the snow towards him.

"What happened to Smith and… Smith?" Harry raised his eyebrow.

Draco stopped in front of him. "McGonagall flooed the Head of the Department of Mysteries; they're bound to solve that."

"I hope they do," Harry said in a low voice. "Loathed Smith with a passion, but after hearing his story, I can't help but sympathize with the pain of losing your loved one."

"Does that mean that…?" Draco stopped, unsure of how to proceed. Now that he had the older Harry in front of him, somehow he felt as shy as a newly born hippogriff.

Seeing Harry's look of confusion at his obvious hesitation, Draco took a deep breath and plunged ahead. "What I mean to say is – are we still together in your future?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"It's that sometimes I believe this is a fairytale." Draco lifted his arm to wave towards the castle. "That I'm dreaming of one of those tales of Beedle the Bard, and I get the hero at the end."

Harry's gaze caressed the smooth alabaster cheeks whose taste and texture he knew intimately.

Thinking about Harry's words about facing his father on Christmas, Draco glanced shyly at him. "Tell me, do we get to spend Christmas together?"

Harry let out an amused snort and stepped towards Draco, lifting his hand to squeeze gently his shoulder. "Do we ever! I reckon I'd better tell you how we broke Lucius' resistance. One Christmas, after Ron told me about Pureblood customs, I showed up at the Manor with a Yule log, neatly tied in a tartan ribbon with pine cones, sprigs and a sheaf of wheat. It had a note all prim and proper wishing your family the best year."

"Father must have loved that," Draco said softly, gazing into Harry's eyes.

"He surely did." Harry smiled fondly. "Even if he hadn't, there is no force that could keep us apart. Remember when Luna said…?" Harry trailed off and let out a self-deprecating snort, realizing she had that conversation with them in this Draco's future. "Anyway, one day Luna will tell us that you and I are bound by tides of magic, that there's this invisible bridge that has always connected us."

"Is that so?"

"It is true." Harry leaned forward to rub his forehead against Draco, breathing in the woodsy, musky scent that was Draco. Thinking about the lengths that he would go to if Draco was taken from him, Harry closed his eyes and, as snowflakes feathered his cheeks, he whispered against his ear, "If fate should tear us apart, we'll reach blindly towards each other, finding our way together. Not Fiendfyre, not Voldemort, not even death can keep me from you." Feeling the slim body shivering against him, Harry growled low in his chest and lifted his hand to cup Draco's chin between his thumb and forefinger, piercing him with an intense stare. "And if I do not ravage you in the snow right now, it's because I'm afraid my younger self will show up and blast me to pieces."

Belying his words, Harry nibbled on the seam of Draco's mouth, his tongue laving the pouty lips he loved. When Draco opened his mouth, Harry dove in, tongues entwining in the fiery passion that would never grow old. Holding Draco in his arms like this was paradise, and Harry lost himself in the moment while he basked in the unquenchable fire that had always sparked between him and Draco.

The hooting sounds from an owl in the trees above caused him to stop the kiss, though. It reminded Harry of his school days and his penchant for discovery, and thus the possibility that younger Harry would show up.

Draco let out a groan as Harry stepped back, his hand caressing alabaster fingers before he bent down to retrieve his broom.

Draco sighed deeply, his fingers absently rubbing his swollen lips. "I hate goodbyes."

Harry flashed him a winsome smile and cocked his head at Hogwarts. "It's not goodbye. I wait for you in the castle, and in my future you are waiting for me, too."

"You're going to fly through the wards," Draco said with finality.

"I will, it's a rough ride but it's the only way back. If I don't return, you will surely come here and kill me," Harry said wryly as he mounted his broom.

"Take care, Harry."

"Always." Harry waved goodbye, leaning backward as he swung the broom in a graceful arc that took him higher in the air until he had cleared the woods, and then he shot towards the clouds.

Harry leaned his torso, his knees nudging the broom towards Hogsmeade to pass through the wards surrounding the school and return to his time. He squinted as the air around him appeared to shimmer; spots of color dashing in towards him as his vision constricted to a tunnel in front of him whose walls pulsed like a heart.

He wasn't prepared for what happened next, though. Instead of the bobbing motion he'd felt during his flight to the past, a strong wind buffeted him. He hugged the broom, clinging tightly to the wood as the fierce pressure yanked and jostled him from side to side until he lost control of the broom and sank towards the ground, his vision slowly returning to normal.

Harry poured all his magic into controlling his descent, swinging the broom in a tight arc towards the Black Lake. If he couldn't gain control of his broom, at least the water would ameliorate his fall.

He shook his head as he flew past some stone huts below him which stood in the place where he expected to see the Quidditch Pitch. Harry didn't have time for speculation, though, as he lifted the nose of the broom and tried to stall his fall.

His tactics managed to slow his descent enough that when he hit the ground he didn't break any bones. Harry was used to taking a fall in his games of Quidditch, and he leaned his shoulders in such a way that the broom's last spurts slowed his fall. With a grunt, he made contact with the soft snow and tumbled over and over. Luckily the blanket of snow was inches deep and Harry didn't twist his shoulder. He was out of breath, completely knocked out by the fall when he rolled to a stop in front of a rough stone wall. Harry groaned, blinking up at the sky, everything just a blur. His fingers searched blindly for his glasses, and then he glimpsed the blurry outline of a man trudging in the snow towards him.

Harry panted harshly, his fingers closing around the rim of his glasses as the man stopped in front of him.

With trembling fingers, Harry fumbled with his glasses until he managed to put them on.

A guttural, harsh voice reverberated in the snow and the last words Harry heard before he passed out were, "Whence comest thou?"


	21. Toasting with champagne

Harry blinked, his brow furrowing at the hissing sounds in the background as his fingers twitched. He was struggling to wake up. There was a raw taste akin to smoke in his mouth that made him uncomfortable, and as the world slowly swam back into focus, he realized he was lying on a stone slab. He raised his hand, tentatively reaching for his glasses to ensure he hadn't lost them in the snow.

At that realization, his memory came back in a rush. He recalled flying into the wards and reaching the past, his confrontation with Smith while Draco was present, his broom under him as he passed the Hogwarts wards to go home, and the subsequent turmoil as he tumbled down to the ground.

Harry scrunched up his nose at the dank air which felt confined and fetid. He must be underground. This appeared to be confirmed by the dim light which shined around him concentrating on certain spots, probably the sconces. Harry squinted and tilted up his chin to gaze directly overhead. In the ceiling of the cave or hall - whatever this place was - there was a thin, sparkling green line that throbbed and thrummed with power. Harry swiveled his chin to follow it and he found it meshed with other lines converging towards the center of this place; they melted into a thick incandescent pillar which sunk straight down to the floor. The pattern resembled the spokes of a giant wheel and, as his gaze found the base of the pillar, Harry's heart beat quite fast for the same pattern repeated itself on the floor. It was with a sinking feeling that he recognized the shape of the Hogwarts wards; this was confirmed by the silver urn that rested at the point where the lines of magic intersected. It was the Slytherin Chalice, which could only mean he was in the Chamber of Secrets.

To his astonishment, the hissing sounds grew louder and more distinct. Someone was mumbling and as they approached, the noises acquired meaning. Harry scrunched up his brow as his mind began to translate the sibilant sounds.

"I mussst keep Gryffindor at bay."

"Yessss, masster."

Harry tilted his head to the right, his cheek brushing against cold stone as he gazed at the silhouette of the man approaching him. He gasped when he noticed a sinuous line slithering on the floor as the snake struggled to keep up with the wizard.

"At least until my plans reach fruition, which will be any moment now."

"The man….?"

The wizard stepped into a cone of light cast by a sconce. He had an aquiline nose and thin red lips which contrasted with the pallor of his skin. His hair was cropped very short, raven black just like his cloak. He had a sliver of cloth wrapped around his neck; at first Harry thought it was a scarf, but then he noticed it was part of a silk undergarment. A gleaming silver belt with a buckle shaped in the form of a snake provided a dash of color next to his black breeches and leggings. As the man walked determinedly towards Harry, his stance exuded magical power.

"Yesss, he will provide the final push. That artifact perched on his nose, though."

"What?"

Harry gulped, his heart beating against his chest like the hooves of a mad centaur as he realized the import of the words the man so casually spoke in Parseltongue to the snake. It could mean only one thing.

"It reminds me of a drawing of Rowena's; she drew it long before she became infatuated with Gryffindor."

"What wassss it, master?"

"A device to see more clearly. Dear Rowena's sight has been failing lately, with all the reading she does."

Harry closed his eyes as despair threatened to overcome him, for in flying through the wards of Hogwarts, he had not traveled to the future but instead to the distant past. A time when Salazar Slytherin, the man that had taken him to the Chamber of Secrets and spoke Parseltongue so fluently, conspired against the other Founders.

Harry tried to swallow around the lump in his throat as the gravity of the situation sunk in his brain. He was stuck in the past; not only that, but he had to be extraordinarily careful with the information that passed through his lips. A careless slip of the tongue would allow Salazar to glean information he could use in his schemes against Godric Gryffindor, thus irrevocably changing the future. He could not kill or maim Slytherin, for that would destroy the threads of the story that would develop in the next thousand years. Merlin, he would better play the simpleton and give away nothing as he tried to learn what the man planned!

Most of all, Harry determined to conceal from Salazar the fact that he understood Parseltongue. Slytherin remaining unaware of his ability was the only advantage Harry possessed in this time and place; especially since Salazar appeared to enjoy boasting to his snake.

Harry had to be as cunning as Draco, able to disguise his thoughts as Draco had done under Voldemort's scrutiny, the wizard able to employ Legilimency at will.

This insight spurred Harry towards putting up his mental defenses; thankfully the Aurors were required to master Occlumency. It needed a clear mind, though. Harry took a deep breath and pictured a happy memory to banish his dark forebodings.

He recalled Christmas a year ago. He and Draco had dined at an exclusive restaurant in London. That evening they were not the Head Auror and the Minister of Magic, but rather Harry and Draco. They enjoyed their meal and when midnight approached, Harry raised his fluted champagne glass and proposed a toast.

"To all the Christmas nights we've shared," Harry had said, tilting his glass towards Draco.

"And those to come," Draco answered as their glasses clinked, the sparkles in his grey eyes as enticing as those in the bubbly drink.

His mind soothed by this warm remembrance, Harry was able to imagine a pile of bricks which moved as fast as a hummingbird's wings, floating row upon row as they merged together, a sturdy brick wall slowly taking shape as he erected his Occlumency barriers.

"Thou verily sleepeth not," Salazar said in a harsh voice.

Harry opened his eyes as Salazar let out a stream of words that hardly made sense to him. He could recognize one word in five, if that many. The pronunciation was weird and the order of the words hardly conducive to understanding.

"What did you say?" Harry frowned in confusion.

Salazar made stabbing motions with his hands and walked to and fro while the snake slithered closer to Harry. He was tempted to cast a charm to translate Salazar's words, but he dared not. It would act both ways, and he wanted to hide his knowledge under the cover provided by their inability to communicate.

"Kill the man, massster," the snake hissed.

"I can't, he's not disposable like the girl I influenced in the future. The man is too powerful magically; he won't fall for the ruse of words on a book."

"Should I bite him, then?" The malicious serpent reared on its belly, flicking its forked tongue at him.

"No, the moment iss not ripe yet for the magical transference," Salazar hissed, waving towards the Slytherin Chalice.

He wondered what girl he was talking about. It appeared that Salazar had a means to access the future through a book. Perhaps the girl he meant was Ginny, and he was talking about her ordeal in the Chamber of Secrets during Second Year. Harry propped himself up on his elbows and swung his legs to sit up on the edge of the slab.

In his mind's eye, this thought relentlessly pushed Harry toward a chilling conclusion. Was Salazar behind Voldemort's actions during the Chamber of Secrets crisis? After all, it was his Basilisk that was let loose to terrorize the castle.

As Salazar rambled on and on in normal speech, Harry began to understand more of his words. Maybe he had become accustomed to the pronunciation, or his brain was working overtime to provide the necessary extrapolations. Some words he couldn't understand, though. Harry shrugged, realizing he would have to make do with what he had.

Salazar stalked toward him, his cloak billowing. "Knowest thou Rowena's Heir?"

"Rowena's Heir? What do you mean exactly?"

Salazar narrowed his eyes at Harry. "Your clothes tell me you come from the future, knave. Rowena's Heir must be famous."

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about."

Salazar tipped down his chin to hiss at the snake. "This fool is unaware of the girl of prophecy. She who sees beyond Time is my greatest threat." He lifted his hand to rub his chin. "Or perhaps the Basilisk did as instructed and got rid of her, despite the interference of my deformed Heir. I specifically ordered that wizard to use my serpent to get rid of Ravenclaw students. I would have gotten rid of that fool of an Heir, but the Basilisk proved unable to jaunt through time."

"Yess, you sssaid only a shadow of its voice remained," the snake hissed in reply.

Harry shivered delicately at the implications of Salazar's words. Slytherin appeared to have invented the device of communicating through cursed books, his way of talking to the future which Voldemort clumsily replicated with his own diary and Horcrux. He had manipulated Voldemort, goading him to unleash the Basilisk, but it wasn't just the Muggleborns Salazar was after. This appeared to be his cover to eliminate a specific Ravenclaw, Rowena's Heir. Harry recalled Luna's fright that day long ago when he and Draco spoke to Professor Slughorn and her words about the hissing sounds coming from within the walls.

Harry hunched his shoulders, his mind heavy with the implication that all along it had been Luna Lovegood the Basilisk was after during his Second Year.

"Thou art a pureblood?" Salazar's hand snaked towards his cloak. Harry suspected that the wizard would pull out his wand and cast Avada Kedavra if he lied in his answer.

"Both my parents were wizards." Harry shrugged nonchalantly.

Salazar nodded. "I see why magic is drawn to the strength of your blood."

This casual mention of blood prejudice caused Harry to lose his patience and he roared, "You've been manipulating Time, haven't you? Are you aware that you are destroying the wizarding world when you expose us to the Muggles? They will hunt us down!"

"Fret not, knave." Salazar pointed at the Chalice. "The future is malleable and insubstantial. What that silly wench who was obsessed with you hath brought forth can be undone with a flick of my wrist. Only here and now counts, and when I gain full control of Hogwarts, purebloods will be strengthened a thousandfold. Muggles will become irrelevant, fit only to be our sport!"

Salazar's boasts made it clear to Harry that he had used the cursed book to manipulate Romilda Vane, just like Voldemort did with Ginny. He was the puppet master that fed Romilda's obsession with Harry which had led to the events of his Eighth Year at Hogwarts.

His anger at Salazar's casual disregard for magic, Muggles and wizards and everything that wasn't part of his schemes evaporated like a summer mirage, and Harry sunk his head, burying his face in his hands.

"Why am I here?" Harry said wearily.

"Fate brought you here." Salazar sneered. "You were caught in the trap I set up in the wards because your magic is strong. You come from a time when the world overflows with magic, and this wonderful gift that should be reserved for purebloods gathers at certain points which call to each other. I intend to use this wondrous pattern that ebbs and flows to gain control of Hogwarts and thus shape the destiny of wizardkind."

"Why are you telling me this?" Harry lifted his chin to stare at Salazar, defiance stamped on his features.

"I need your cooperation for the ritual." Salazar turned his head and cocked his chin at the Slytherin Chalice. "It will work either way, but if you willingly go into the magical transference, the unleashed power will be stronger."

"Transference?" Harry narrowed his eyes.

"Your magic will be transferred to the Chalice during the Winter Solstice." Salazar said with a smirk. "It will grant me the power to move through Time."

Harry shuddered at that, picturing a gruesome Dark ritual in which he would probably bleed to death as his magic was taken from him.

Salazar nodded with satisfaction at Harry's reaction and turned his back, the serpent slithering by his side.

"Won't his friendssss miss him?" hissed the snake.

"It doesssn't matter if they come." Salazar tipped down his chin to gaze at the serpent as he walked away. "Here and now trumpsss the future, little one. I will change the layout of my dungeons time and again, so no one can ever find their way in."

Harry glanced at the dreadful silhouette of the Founder of Slytherin as it merged with the darkness, the sibilant sounds from the conversation striking through his heart.

"What need have I of becoming the Massster of Death, when I will be the Master of Time?" Slytherin gloated.

Harry shook his head wearily and then looked up, glancing around the Chamber. How could he contact his friends? Send a message through time using one of the Hogwarts ghosts, perhaps the Grey Lady herself? His heart sank when he realized the Grey Lady hadn't died yet - she probably wasn't even born. Harry sighed in despair, his hand reaching blindly for his holster only to discover his wand was missing.


	22. Silver bells

**Winter 2018**

Draco looked up at the swooshing sound of the door opening, his fingers gripping tightly the crinkled parchment he had been reading.

"Minister Malfoy, Mrs. Granger-Weasley is here to see you," Mrs. Havendish said, her pinched features denoting the exhaustion that had set in after the grueling day handling the crisis.

"Send her in."

He lowered his gaze and read again the details of the miraculous letter while Hermione walked in and sat on the other side of his desk.

"Did they work?" Draco said in a whisper, anxiously waiting for the answer that would dictate if the wizarding world might continue or not.

"They certainly did!" Hermione gushed, her brown eyes shining with excitement. "Where did you get those codes? They worked like magic, I couldn't believe my eyes. I had people send them to the servers of the company, and they acted instantly!"

He let out a sigh of relief, his fingers relaxing their hold on the letter as he reclined on his chair. "So no more Muggle surveillance?"

"It isn't that simple!" Hermione's lips curled up in a tight smile. "They will continue their surveillance just like before; their equipment will work perfectly and so on, but the results won't be displayed. From now on, magic is undetectable to their devices. It doesn't matter if they search from the ground up or using satellites from space, the results will be negative since the same supercomputers we compromised process all their data! It's so ingeniously sly and subtle!"

Draco shook his head at the confusing Muggle science jargon and then a lopsided smirk tugged up the corner of his lips.

"You have to tell me, where did you get the inactivation codes?" Hermione leaned her elbows on the desk and cradled her chin between her thumb and forefinger, her keen gaze piercing him. "Did an Unspeakable or Auror get them?"

He shook his head and laughed softly. "It was nothing like that. I'm afraid our resources aren't as spectacular as those Muggle movies." With the heel of his hand, he pushed the parchment towards her. "Chronus was here with a letter. Read it."

"Harry?"

"No, you have to see it to believe it."

Hermione furrowed her brow in confusion and gingerly picked up the letter. Her eyes widening, she gripped the parchment tighter as she read the missive. Then she placed the letter on the desk and her fingers brushed a particular passage. "Is this for real?"

"The codes worked, didn't they?" Draco said smugly.

"I just find it hard to believe that Zacharias Smith himself, the chairman of the Cyclops software company, would send us the codes to deactivate his software." She raised her eyebrows.

"Let's say McGonagall was very persuasive," Draco said in admiration. "I do believe she would have made a formidable Head of Slytherin."

"She also used her heart." Hermione shot him a scowl, displeased at the thought of McGonagall in Slytherin. "She writes that Smith was in love with Romilda and her death was the proximate cause that led to his company developing the software."

"That may be right." He conceded with a shrug. "But McGonagall persuaded him to cooperate using Slytherin cunning."

Hermione reclined on the chair, her gaze drawn to the window as she nodded. "She says she offered Smith what he wanted most in this world, to have Romilda by his side once more; and I'll readily agree that the way she will fulfill that promise is rather ingenious."

"McGonagall will swap Romilda's body just before the car hits her," he said in a subdued tone. "I guess her Transfiguration skills will come in handy."

"And the timeline will be preserved," Hermione said, her voice tinged with wonder. "Smith gets to live the rest of his days with his love in another country; it's no wonder he proved cooperative and willing to provide the inactivation codes for his software."

"How will McGonagall….?" Draco stopped at the sound of the door being pushed open.

Mrs. Havendish leaned into the room and said, "Luna Lovegood is here to see you, Minister."

Draco nodded his assent and then Luna strode confidently into the office, nodding at her friends.

"How will she travel to the future to fulfill her promise?" Draco said, looking up at Luna as he motioned to the chair.

When Luna raised her eyebrows at his question, Draco cocked his chin at the parchment. "Read it, please."

"I'm sure the Headmistress won't use a Time-Turner, she hates them," Hermione said firmly. "I suppose she will travel through time the natural way, by living through it. She only has to wait a few years after all."

Luna read the letter quickly and then placed it on the desk, nodding in satisfaction. "It makes perfect sense. Sometimes things come together on their own."

"Synchronicity, as Slughorn told Harry and me." Draco flashed her a smirk and then glanced down at his watch, a frown marring his brow. "By the way, where is he? He should be here by now."

"I reckon he's busy in his office. I heard the situation in Hogwarts is critical," Luna said.

"No, I meant he should be back from the past." He stared at the window with a pensive expression. "Do you remember I told you about our conversation when he caught Smith?"

"It slipped my mind. I've been so busy with the wards," Hermione confessed.

"That winter day so long ago, Harry flew on his broom and went through the Hogwarts wards to return to his own time." Draco blushed, remembering that heated kiss on the snow. He tilted down his chin and stared at his watch. "Now he's been gone for two hours." He stood up and started pacing to and fro. "He has to come back! Now that the situation is resolved, it wouldn't be fair if anything happened to him!"

"Life is often unfair, Draco," Luna said softly. "Especially Harry's life."

"It was the day I received those silver bells, remember?" Draco gazed down at Hermione.

"That was a nice gift." Hermione shot him a brief smile, recalling Draco's excitement as the owl swooped down, bearing the package from his partner at the owl gift exchange. The bells were shiny and perfectly cast, with neat red ribbons. He had said they were the perfect finishing touch for the Christmas tree at the Manor.

"When I left you lot and returned to the dungeons, Blaise complained his owl had been knocked around by the fierce wind and couldn't deliver a letter to his mother." Draco furrowed his brow in confusion. "And why is it that I'm remembering this just now?"

"I could say it's the stress of the last few days," Hermione said in a low voice. "But then again, this could mean there's been a… time shift."

"You mean that when Harry was flying to get here, something happened?" Luna whispered, her eyes widening.

"I'm afraid so." Hermione let out a sigh.

"I'm going to Hogwarts right now." He stalked towards the door.

Luna stood up. "I'm going with you."

Draco started to object, but then a silvery cloud darted into the office.

Neville's Patronus hung in mid-air as it delivered his message. "Draco, the wards are collapsing! They've shrunk and hang just outside the castle; we don't know what's going on so I've ordered the evacuation of Hogwarts. The Hogsmeade refugees, students, and Hogwarts staff are heading for the greenhouses right now and I'll follow them after sending off this message."

Draco exchanged worried looks with Luna and Hermione, but before he could utter a word, a ghostly silvery dog dashed inside. It stopped in front of Hermione.

"I've received a report from the Aurors at Hogwarts. They saw Harry flying into the clouds and vanishing." Ron's voice was tinged with anxiety as his Patronus delivered his message. "Bloody hell, did those idiots have to go through the chain of command before they could reach me? Won't you tell Draco? I'm heading for Hogwarts after I've dealt with the chaos here; those angry refugees want to return to their businesses in Diagon Alley as soon as possible."

Draco walked to the door but then Hermione placed her hand on his arm. "Wait, there's something I need to tell you. If the wards collapsed, it means that the magic binding them has increased exponentially. It could be very dangerous."

Draco gulped and turned to face her. "I have to find Harry. Surely you of all people understand, Hermione."

Hermione nodded slowly. "I do understand; just… don't fly through them like Harry; the recoil could break your back. Since the wards are just outside the castle or even moved inside, as I suspect, we'll just walk through them."

"We?" Draco stared intently at her.

"Of course," Hermione scoffed. "I'm going with you and Luna. Surely you don't think that…"

Draco held up his hands so he could explain himself and said softly, "Hermione, we might not make it back. Losing the Minister of Magic, the Head Auror, Head of the Unspeakables, plus the top ward researcher we have – the Ministry can't afford that."

"But, Draco..." Hermione stopped at the pleading look in his face.

"The situation with Muggle surveillance is getting much better, but we don't know how long it will last." He gazed deep into her brown eyes, wishing to convey the seriousness of the situation. "We need you here, to man the ship and continue your research – to deal with the Muggle situation as it develops. You're superbly qualified for that."

"You don't intend to come back," Hermione whispered as she gripped Draco's arm.

He shook his head. "I intend to do what it takes to save Harry. It is my job to consider all the contingencies; that's why, if I don't make it back you should take the position of the Minister of Magic."

"Are you joking?" Hermione scoffed. "They would never elect a Muggleborn Minister!"

Draco raised his hand to grab her shoulder. "They will. It's always been my intention that a Muggleborn should succeed me. How do you think I managed to get elected? I headed a group of progressive purebloods willing to work with Muggleborns; it's our chance to break the barriers of prejudice once and for all."

Hermione nodded slowly, and Draco cocked his head at the door. "I'll tell Mrs. Havendish to hand you the list of our supporters. If they prove stubborn, I'm sure you'll manage to punch some sense into them," Draco said wryly as he rubbed his chin in the spot where Hermione hit him so many years ago.

The corners of her lips twitched as Hermione essayed a wan smile.

Draco and Luna walked to the door; Luna nodded at him before opening the door and walking out. Then he closed the door and bowed, his forehead touching the cool doorframe. "You'll be good at this, Hermione, even better than me."

"Draco..." she said mournfully.

Draco turned to face her, his handsome features twisted in anguish. "You've always been better than me at everything; school grades, handling magic, and gaining friends and trust. You certainly have better instincts. And me? The best thing I have is Harry. I can't afford to lose him."

Draco waved goodbye as he opened the door, and then dashed out of the office.

Hermione walked to the door, gazing at the furniture which appeared blurry due to the film of tears trapped in her eyes. She opened it slowly and gazed at the empty corridor as she whispered, "Come back, Draco, come back with Harry."

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

"You're wrong, you know." Luna glanced sideways at Draco, whose handsome face appeared to be carved out of moonlight by the light of the wards glowing just inside the main door of Hogwarts. "You're better than Hermione at cunning and flying."

"How did you…? Forget it; I guess a Nargle told you, huh?" Draco turned to face Luna, and her enigmatic smile coaxed a grin out of him. Her hair seemed woven out of finest elven silk, highlighted by the dappled light from the wards inside the windows of the castle.

As they approached the silent castle, Luna said softly, "Why me and not Hermione?"

Draco shrugged. "Because of the reasons I outlined. I also trust you to apply the same perspicacity you bring to your job with the Unspeakables, and your ability to see things other people miss."

Luna pointed at white shapes that pawed restlessly the snow, just outside the oak door. "Well, there are a lot of Snorkacks around; plenty of Heliopaths too." She waved at the blurry points of light darting around the crenellated tower of the castle.

Draco raised his eyebrows but said nothing for a while. When he stepped forward into the threshold, he turned to Luna. "Hermione told us that if the wards collapsed even more, they would be wrapped around the Chamber of Secrets. We should search for Harry there."

Luna nodded and Draco turned to glance inside, narrowing his eyes at the glare of the wards. The two stepped into the castle, raising their elbows to protect their eyes.

Draco led the way as they approached the marble staircase, gently pushing Luna's shoulder to the left to take the stairs down to the dungeons. He took a deep breath, marveling at the eeriness of this day. These halls and stairs that he used to walk every day now seemed alien, part of another, realm bathed as they were in this unnatural radiance and bereft of any occupants – not even the ghosts.

He glanced up at the wall of light that stood between them and the stairs and squared his shoulders as he stepped ahead. This was it, the moment of truth.

The light was so thick it seemed solid, an observation that was confirmed when Draco struggled to pass through. Ghostly hands seemed to push them this way and that while Luna huddled close to Draco, the two stepping awkwardly towards the stairs as Draco's arms shot out blindly to grasp the banister. He certainly didn't want to stumble and fall down the stairs in the middle of the encompassing whiteness.

"All right?" said Draco in a loud voice, which seemed fitting for this strange situation.

"Let's go!" Luna shouted back.

His fingers finally grabbed the wooden banister, struggling to find purchase as Draco slowly took down the stairs one step at a time, the comforting weight of Luna by his side.

Draco and Luna walked down deliberately slow, eyelids almost close due to the brightness as they held onto each other in case they lost equilibrium. Time seemed to pass very slowly as they struggled through the thickest part of the wards. Finally, when they were near the end of the stairs, the light and pressure surrounding them abated.

Draco extended his leg, his foot seeking a lower step when he realized there was none, the floor was level. He turned to Luna, who blinked owlishly at him.

"We've just passed the wards." Draco squinted up at the light coming from the stairs; from this side, it seemed to pulse angrily.

"So where is the Chamber?" Luna said.

Draco glanced around the corridor, but things seemed oddly strange. It had a shining appearance he wasn't accustomed to. There were fewer torches than usual, and even the layout was different.

"Let me see," he mumbled as he walked towards the low-ceilinged corridor to the left. He peered ahead and then turned towards Luna. "Come on, it's this way."

Luna waved at the mistletoe hanging low at the end of the stairs, smiling at the Nargles wiggling around in the Christmas ornament. Then she walked towards Draco, a smile settling on her face. "The Nargles are having a good time. They can see better in this light to pick the thickest leaves for their meal."

Draco nodded and glanced back, a frown wrinkling his brow when he noticed the red shapes weaving in and out of the mistletloe leaves. He shook his head and then pointed at the end of the corridor. "This is the way. It's not the original one – that appears to be walled off – but I saw it once on an old map of Hogwarts at the Manor library."

As the two walked along the corridor, Draco glanced at Luna and said softly, "This means the wards have brought us far into the past. I'm not sure how far, but that map was made two hundred years ago."

"Well, as long as we find Harry," Luna said in a low voice.

Draco guided Luna as they ventured deeper into the dungeons, the light from the wards dimming with the distance until it resembled an ordinary day at Hogwarts, the place lit only by the torches.

At the end of a dank corridor, Draco stuttered to a halt in front of a shallow rim which was mortared with hewn stone. He huffed in frustration. "Merlin, I swear this should have a door! It leads to the entrance of the Chamber."

He fished out his wand from his pocket, determined to blast the stones if he had to, but then he heard Luna's voice.

"Draco, come over here!"

He glanced towards her. Luna was standing in the middle of the corridor, in the shadowy space between two torches, her blond hair almost glowed in the dark.

Draco made his way to her and raised his eyebrows. "What is it? I was about to blast…"

"The entrance is here." Luna pointed towards the curved wall at a spot shrouded by darkness. "Stand right here and you will see it."

Draco frowned and stepped towards her, a curse escaping his lips while his eyes widened at the sight in front of him. There was a hole which seemed to melt into the background. It had a ghostly consistency, and for a moment Draco thought it was a prank devised by Peeves until Luna stepped forward and walked to the other side.

"Come on, it's easy," Luna said forcefully.

Squaring his shoulder, Draco took a step, his body struggling for a second to pass through the hole; the air felt slightly thicker and offered resistance to his movement until he reached Luna.

"What was that?" Draco cocked his head at the wall.

"I don't know, exactly," Luna said, her palm flat against the hole on the wall. "It feels exactly like when I touch a Snorkack, you know."

"It feels the same?" Draco said.

Luna nodded her assent.

"Then you should lead the way." Draco thrust his chin at the end of the corridor. "I think… I think this tunnel and the way to the Chamber have been changed in the past; you are the only one that can pinpoint all the corridors that have existed here in different timelines and where they lead with your ability."

"Ok, that's cool." Luna shrugged nonchalantly.

As she skipped towards the end of the corridor, Draco shook his head wryly. "Trust you to take things in stride."

"We have to hurry," Luna said. "I'm worried about the Crumpled-Horned Snorkacks."

"How so?"

"I've never seen them inside Hogwarts. It's odd," Luna said.

Draco hurried along, spurred by her words. As they descended further, he sniffed the air which felt cloying and constricting. It appeared that the Chamber of Secrets was nearby.

Draco pulled out his wand, and thinking about the Basilisk, he glanced at Luna and said in a soft voice, "If we traveled hundreds of years into the past, it might well be that the Basilisk is near. Wish we had Hermione's weird Muggle glasses. Just remember to never look at its eyes."

"I wish I had a rooster," Luna said.

"Yeah, that would come in handy." Draco walked faster, stepping ahead of Luna as he adopted a protective stance. "Do you know of any animal that could have the same effect?"

"Not really, though the Dumpledin comes close." She peered ahead. "The door's here."

Draco squinted at the dim light ahead. The torch illuminated the door carved with intricate snakes which was the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

He glanced at Luna, knuckles white around his wand as he brandished it at the door.

"What are you doing?" Luna pulled on his arm.

"Since we don't speak Parseltongue, I'll have to blast the door."

"No need for that." Luna craned her neck and glanced at a spot several yards away. "There's a smaller door over there."

"Lead the way." Draco followed her until the two faced a milky square in the middle of the wall which was filled with shimmering light.

Luna pointed at it. "Here's the entrance."

Draco bent down, his hand holding tight the wand as he stepped forward, but then he felt Luna's hand on his back.

"Take care; the light is glimmering too much; I have never seen that."

Draco stood still. "What could it mean?"

"From what Hermione told us about the coiled magic of the wards if they shrank this much, and the fact we use them to travel through time." Luna glanced at the corridor they were leaving behind. "And taking into account all the animals inside Hogwarts, it may well be that the timelines are meshing inside."

"Let's hope that doesn't affect Harry." Draco took a deep breath and motioned at the darkness inside.

Luna nodded wearily, and then the two of them stepped into the Chamber of Secrets.


	23. Gingerbread men

Draco brandished his wand at the darkness, interspersed with the cones of light cast by the sconces. He looked around the huge cavern, his attention immediately drawn to the vibrating threads of light crisscrossing the ceiling and fusing into a column that sunk to the ground, where they again dispersed towards the distant walls. The whole cage of light thrummed with magical power. Draco could feel it resonating with the blood in his veins and calling to him, making him anxious to approach the center and sink his fingers in the chalice because it promised untold power.

"Draco, are you alright?" Luna's concern managed to pull him out of his trance.

He shook his head warily and cocked his chin at the center of the cavern where the chalice was. "It calls to me. Makes me want to grab it, to sink in its embrace."

"I don't feel anything except a vague sense of foreboding." Luna's brow furrowed in puzzlement. "Maybe it acts on you because you're a Slytherin?"

Staring intently at the Slytherin chalice, Draco could swear it was throbbing with life, its rhythm synchronized with the cage of light. Could it be that the Chalice was imbued with Slytherin's essence and that's why it hypnotized him so? Would it act on Harry the same way?

At the thought of his husband, all his interest for the chalice vanished all of a sudden. Draco raised his eyebrows at Luna. "Any signs of Harry?"

"Over here!" Harry's voice came out of the penumbra near the opposite side of the cavern.

"I'm coming, hang on!" Draco shouted and then walked briskly across the floor of the Chamber, trying not to step on the lines of light.

"Are you alright?" Luna called out to Harry, walking a few steps behind Draco.

"I'm fine, I think."

Draco pricked up his ears at the sound of footsteps coming their way, and his heart leapt with joy at the sight of his flustered husband emerging from the gloom. Draco ran towards him, almost tripping over a pile of bones in his haste to get to Harry.

He wrapped Harry in a tight embrace, burrowing his face in his neck to smell his scent, conveying grass, Quidditch, and life. "Merlin, I'm so glad you're alright! How did you end up here? I have to tell you that we solved the…"

Harry placed one finger on Draco's lips, effectively silencing him. He glanced around and nodded at Luna, who was walking sedately towards them. "We have to get out of here fast," he said urgently. "The wizard that brought me here is Salazar Slytherin."

"That can't be," Draco said. "He's been dead for centuries."

"I know, he laid a trap on the wards that brought me to his time." Harry cocked his head at the entrance of the cave. "Didn't you notice the changes in Hogwarts?"

"We passed through the wards on our way downstairs to the dungeons." Luna said. "And Draco deduced we had arrived two hundred years before our time." Then she peered into the darkness. "The Snorkacks are getting restless, we have to go."

"Yes, let's go." Harry heartily agreed. He guessed Luna's strange animals were the reason for the ghostly shapes that kept coalescing out of the gloom only to vanish a few heartbeats later. "I'll tell you the rest on the way."

The three made their way across the cavern while Harry informed his companions as succinctly as possible about Salazar's part in their troubles, and how he intended to use Harry's magic to be able to travel through time.

"That bloody bastard!" Draco growled low under his breath, his fingers gripping his wand. "I should kill him!"

"You can't do that!" Harry said urgently, having had time to ponder all the implications of messing around with time. "You would destroy the timeline in which you and I were born!"

"I see your point, though it pains me not to be able to show that merciless bastard what I think of him." Draco glanced at the hole in the wall, a mere twenty yards ahead, which would take them away from this dank place. Then he stepped over a small stream that ran the length of the cave and turned to offer his hand to Harry. He noticed Harry's alarmed expression and swiftly turned around to point his wand towards any danger.

Draco's eyes widened at the sight of the wizard walking towards them. He would know those features in a heartbeat; after all, the portrait of Salazar presided over the Slytherin Common Room.

"Let us go!" Draco snarled, all traces of the respect and veneration he used to have for the Founder of his House having vanished years ago when he had to endure the social ruin of his family after the War.

Salazar narrowed his eyes at Draco, but when his gaze slid to the person behind him, the corners of his lips twisted in a gleeful smile.

"Rowena's Heir is here at last!" Slytherin gave a perfunctory bow and waved his hand at the center of the cave. "Your magic shall prove most powerful indeed. I am assured of victory now."

"You should know there are several Crumpled-Horned Snorkacks behind you," Luna said dreamily. "They are angry at being dragged here."

"Thou speakest nonsense, dear child." Salazar chuckled darkly, his gaze straying towards Harry and Draco. "You two are free to leave, now that I have a suitable replacement to fill my chalice."

"Are you barmy?" Harry growled. "We won't leave Luna."

Salazar nodded impatiently and then he looked at Draco, his piercing eyes seemingly reading his very soul. He took at a glance the Malfoy signet ring on one of the fingers wrapped around the wand, and a cruel smile twisted his lips. "A pureblood, I see. You must belong to my House so I shall expect you to do the astute thing." He cocked his head at Harry. "Convince him to leave and I will let you go; it is only Rowena's Heir that I want."

"You are despicable," Draco snarled, his wand trembling as his temper got the better of him. "I loathe you because of all the pain you will cause with your half-baked ideas; all the prejudice your foul mouth spouts will cause misery untold." Noticing Slytherin's sly smirk, Draco shook his head and went on. "You've poisoned the minds of your followers with your idiotic babbling masquerading as pureblood pride, and how I wish I could snuff out your miserable existence like the gormless vermin you are!"

"Merlin's beard!" Harry muttered through gritted teeth. There went all his rehearsed plans to trick Slytherin into letting them go. On the other hand, Harry mused as he observed the fire in Draco's eyes and the way his severe expression fit his handsome face quite well, Draco had always looked hot when he was raging mad. It was one of the reasons why Harry had secretly enjoyed their Hogwarts fights.

Salazar snarled and drew his wand very fast. He had time enough to deflect the _Expelliarmus_ Draco sent his way and he swished his wand, muttering the incantation of a deadly cutting curse.

Draco dove to the side, easily evading the curse as he cast _Incarcerous_. Meanwhile, Luna had pulled out her wand to cast a Blinding Jinx at Salazar.

However, the magic of Salazar Slytherin was strong and he easily dodged their attacks. Snarling, he cast the Killing Curse at Draco. Harry's wandless shield in front of them blunted the curse while Draco jumped out of its range.

His mouth pursed in a thin line of regret, Salazar then cast the Killing Curse at Harry. Harry bent down, the palm of his hand flat against the ground as he pulled up his legs to tumble sideways, his back protected by Draco's shield. The green light of Avada Kedavra left afterimages in his eyes after it passed through the spot he had just occupied. The curse went on, gouging a path on the ground until it reached the Slytherin Chalice, glowing a mottled green as it struck it.

The wards pulsed angrily at that moment, the lines of magic growing dimmer and brighter, the magic of the Slytherin Chalice having reacted badly to the dark magic used in the Killing Curse. Only Luna noticed this from the corners of her eyes.

The fight was demanding, hard-paced and brutal. Slytherin enjoyed the upper hand, since it didn't matter to him who got killed; even if Rowena's Heir should die, Salazar could still use her magic to merge with that of the Chalice.

In the fast confrontation, Harry became aware of the wards running amok when their colors pulsed in a random pattern. It was hard to see well in the gloom, so he discounted the ghostly shapes that flittered in and out of existence in the midst of the fight.

Harry, Draco, and Luna held their places. Their combined attacks had worn down Salazar, but they weren't enough to dull his mind. He employed an archaic dark curse which caused the ground to tremble, and a crack zigzagging on the floor towards their side jolted them.

Harry stumbled and rolled on the ground to evade a curse. Draco also fell to the floor, the jarring movement of the ground jostling his wand away from him. It ended up six feet away; Draco dived to the side to get it back, but then Slytherin pointed his wand at him.

Draco gripped his wand and desperately brandished it at Salazar, knowing deep in his guts he was too late to counterattack properly.

"Avada…" Slytherin started to say, but then a white shape loomed out of the gloom and stumbled onto him, causing him to lose his footing.

Draco took advantage of Salazar's fall and swiftly cast _Incarcerous_. Ropes shot up from the ground, writhing around his cloak and breeches until they bound Salazar's wand arm and his legs, effectively rendering him prisoner.

Harry shook his head, unsure if the swishing sound he heard was coming from the wards or from the rush of the battle. He cast a rapid glance at the ceiling, his heart beating fast as he realized the wards were shining so bright, the light of the sconces was unnecessary.

Meanwhile, Draco stalked towards the Founder of his House, mouth curled up in a snarl and eyes ablaze.

Harry watched him approach Slytherin and raised his hand to call out to him and bring him to his senses. It wasn't needed though, because the spell Draco cast was simply _Obliviate._

Slytherin stopped struggling at once, glancing up at the ceiling with glazed eyes before he finally closed his eyelids.

"Bloody loser!" Draco snarled at the Founder of his House, and then he kicked his inert body.

Luna went to Draco and lifted her hand to squeeze his shoulder in sympathy; then she tilted down her chin to stare reprovingly at Slytherin. "Told him the Snorkack was angry. He should've listened."

Draco glanced at the center of the cave, where a roaring sound was coming from the Chalice. "It's going to explode."

"The Killing Curse hit it." Luna shrugged. "I think the dark magic is interfering with its functioning."

"It would do so, especially if it's connected with our future version," Harry said as he stepped towards them. "The runes Hermione employed need harmony and love, and I doubt very much they'd react well to the Killing Curse."

Crackling came from the wards now, and the roaring sound emanating from the chalice reminded Harry of waves striking a cliff.

"We have to go now!" Draco motioned at the hole in the wall. "What should we do with the chalice?"

"Leave it behind." Luna proposed. "It will be needed in our future."

Draco pushed Harry towards the door. "We have to run for it."

"What about my wand?" Harry glanced down at the floor. "I lost it; maybe Slytherin will find it."

"Let it go!" Draco pulled on his arm. "We'll get another one in the future."

A rumbling sound like a faraway thunder reverberated on the walls of the Chamber. Harry nodded at Draco and started running toward the exit. "Let's go."

The three dashed out of the Chamber of Secrets, aware that they had no time to lose. If the Chalice should explode before they could cross the wards, they would be stranded in the past forever and none of them relished that idea.

Draco turned his head to glance at Luna. "You lead the way."

Luna nodded and ran faster, trying to keep up with Draco's long strides.

It took less than five minutes for them to leave the dungeons behind, with Luna's deft guidance. Every now and them, Harry would glance back, his face scrunched up in apprehension at the booming sounds coming from the depths of Hogwarts in the Chamber of Secrets.

Finally, they reached the stairs that led to the Ground Floor. Luna stumbled in the middle of the stairs, but Harry wrapped his arm around her waist and held her steady.

"Go, go now!" Harry shouted to be heard amongst the noise of the wards collapsing.

Draco laced his hand with Harry's as they struggled to climb the stairs through the thick pressure of the wards. Strangely, Draco found it easier this time – he didn't have to fear that he would stumble and fall, and he had Harry's comforting presence by his side.

Just as they reached the end of the stairs, the wards pulsed once and exploded, throwing them in a heap onto the marble floor.

Harry closed his eyes as the brightness engulfed them, wincing as his knee made contact with Draco's back, Luna's arm hitting the nape of his neck.

When the noise ceased, Harry opened his eyes and glanced up at the ceiling of the hall, noting that it appeared normal. "Are you alright?" he said.

"I'll be fine if you take your knee off my back," Draco mumbled, his face pressed against the cool marble.

"Sorry, Draco." Harry stood up and then reached down to offer a hand.

Draco took it and heaved himself up with a groan. "Luna, you're fine?"

"I'm good," Luna said simply. "A Snorkack broke my fall."

"Good for him," Draco grinned, knowing that never again would he doubt the existence of Luna's fabulous animals.

"Yes, especially since she's a girl." Luna flashed him a brief grin.

Harry studied intently the Entrance Hall of Hogwarts, trying to notice any possible changes that their presence in the past might have caused. Finding none, he breathed a tentative sigh of relief which was short-lived, because he was enveloped in a tight hug.

"Mate, I've been looking all over for you," Ron said. "Those bloody Aurors didn't tell me you'd been gone for hours! I was so worried."

"I'm fine, Ron, I'm fine." Harry hugged Ron back, treasuring the welcoming feeling he always got around him.

"It's time you show up, Harry. Ron was going barmy without you."

Harry looked up, surprise causing his heart to flutter madly like the wings of a Cornish pixie, for the voice he heard tugged painfully at his heartstrings; it was a beloved sound that was lost to him for so many years and he never thought he would hear it again.

"Here, have some gingerbread cookies, mom sent them," the wizard in front of him said.

Harry turned slowly, afraid to find out if it was a mirage, and when he stared at the speaker, he knew that the past had been changed indeed. He hardly heard Draco's gasp by his side, or Luna's mumbling. His hand automatically reached for one of the gingerbread men the wizard was offering in a plate.

Harry's mouth watered at the aroma of ginger and clove with a dash of cinnamon and he munched on the cookie, decorated with a beaming face which resembled him at the moment, Harry supposed.

"Hello Fred, long time no see," he said.


	24. Epilogue I - 1998 (Father Christmas)

_**Warning: **NC-17, graphic sex_

* * *

><p><strong>Christmas 1998<strong>

Fingering the strap of his schoolbag, Harry grabbed the doorknob and opened the door to their secret meeting place. He sauntered inside and shot Draco a smile.

"You made it on time," Draco thrust his chin at the chair on the other side of the desk. "Did you bring what I requested?"

"Yep, it's all here." Harry sat down; then he heaved up his schoolbag and opened the zipper. "Let's see; the Invisibility Cloak's here and so is the Marauder's Map."

"Good." Draco nodded, his features sharp and stern. "We need all the resources we can muster against our common enemy."

"Are you sure they are the enemy?" Harry glanced fleetingly at him before pulling out the Marauder's Map.

"They are indeed." Draco said seriously. "They toyed with us for the longest time, tried our patience to the utmost, and they have done unspeakable things!"

"And you also have the pressure to win, don't you?" Harry narrowed his eyes at him and then lowered his gaze to the Map.

"Of course I do! The fate of Hogwarts depends on our success!" Draco said, indignation tingeing his voice.

"Ok, just checking." Harry nodded absently.

"Dear Harry, you don't seem to realize what's at stake here," Draco said slowly, mustering all the patience he had. Couldn't Harry see that the outcome of their task would seal many fates?

Harry waved his slim wand over the Map, muttering, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

"I can't believe they're at Hogwarts." Draco drummed his fingers on the desk. "Luckily Weasley had intelligence concerning this threat."

"So now you're friends with Ron?" Harry said absently, his gaze fixed on the Map while he followed the movements of the students that had remained in the castle during winter break. His heart clenched painfully at the thought that Colin Creevey, one of the casualties of the Final Battle, would never appear on his map.

Draco's eyes narrowed as he noticed Harry's shift in mood. He knew his boyfriend well, and he was sure Harry was remembering the people he lost during Voldemort's crazy grab for power. Deciding that a distraction was in order, Draco coughed discreetly.

Harry tilted up his chin to glance towards his boyfriend, earning him a smirk.

"Preparations for Christmas are complete," Draco said with finality.

"Potion?"

"Ready."

"Runes?"

"Well, I asked Hermione for help." Draco cocked his head at the door. "It's her forte anyway. She says she's going to try for a career in wards development."

"Doesn't surprise me at all, with the work she did setting up the Hogwarts wards." Harry nodded and then looked up at the sound of the door opening. He smiled when his best friend walked in, together with Luna.

"Harry, Draco," Hermione glanced at them before sitting down.

"Hermione, Luna." Harry flashed them a mischievous grin.

"Sorry we're late," Luna said dreamily as she sat on the chair next to Hermione. "I had to drive away the Nargles munching on the mistletoe."

Draco rolled his eyes at her words, wincing when Harry's foot connected with his shin.

"You didn't tell me Luna got involved in this, too," said Harry with an accusing glare.

Draco shrugged. "I feel her presence is necessary for our plot to succeed."

"I can't believe you, Draco!" Hermione finally huffed. "I thought the runes you asked for were important?"

"They are important, indeed," Draco said.

"For your silly prank war against Fred and George!" Hermione glared at him and crossed her arms. "I thought it had to do with those letters from the future!"

"Well, Draco wrote to us today. Future Draco I mean." Harry shrugged. "Turns out things settled down and he even warned us against interfering and thus disrupting the timeline."

"I still can't believe it was that easy." Hermione shook her head at them and then leaned on the chair, her hand casually brushing a lock of hair off her forehead. "Turns out all they needed were the disabling codes; I should've realized high-tech companies always have a nasty trick up their sleeves. In the last resort they don't care that much about their customers, do they? We're lucky McGonagall persuaded the Chairman, Zacharias."

"Smith had his reasons to be angry," Draco grudgingly conceded, remembering the despair in Zacharias Smith's voice. He sympathized, for he would have been just as angry if something happened to Harry. As for the companies' behavior, Hermione's words made it resemble a cutthroat environment, just like magic. Seemed like things weren't that different for Muggles and wizards, Draco decided with a shrug.

"Before leaving for Christmas break, Fred told me his reasons for the prank war," Luna said in a low voice.

"They better be good." Harry scowled. "In defending ourselves, we had to become very proficient at retaliation pranks."

"Well, Fred claims they did it all so you and Draco would get together," Luna said.

"Nonsense," Harry huffed.

"You have to admit you were in low spirits after your breakup with Ginny," Hermione said.

"She was just angry that it was Harry who subdued her after that Death Eater cast _Imperio_ on her," Draco growled, pointing at Harry's wand lying next to the Map. "Not to mention that her wand changed allegiances and became Harry's."

Draco furrowed his brow and grabbed the wand, enjoying the smooth feeling of the hawthorn wood. The wand itself was slender and supple.

"Wielding Harry's wand feels great," Draco said. "Feels like it belongs to me."

"Maybe in another life it was Draco's wand first," Luna said.

"That may well be correct, Luna," Draco said in a pensive tone. After all that transpired during Christmas break, he would readily admit their world was filled with wonder. He shrugged then, reflecting that perhaps even those animals Luna saw everywhere were real after all.

"I wasn't sure I would defeat Voldemort with it," Harry conceded in a small voice as Draco handed back the wand. "After all, he was wielding the Elder wand."

"Which he got from me," Draco said, regret tingeing his voice. "I shouldn't have disarmed Dumbledore, and Severus had to die for it."

Glancing up at his boyfriend, Harry recognized the pensive look upon Draco's features. To distract him, Harry returned to the subject of the pranks.

"Fred and George are in deep trouble," he growled.

"Admit it, Harry." Hermione smiled fondly, remembering how melancholic Harry had been when term started, in contrast with his cheerful demeanor of the past few months. "You've had fun."

"It's true, I had loads of fun." Harry blushed. "Pranking forced me to refresh my potion skills."

"We should talk of something more cheerful," Luna said with a shrug. "After all, today is Christmas."

"That reminds me… Harry?" Draco stole a glance at him and said tentatively. "Father and Mother expect us at the Manor in 3 hours."

Harry groaned. "Did you have to mention that? I forgot!"

"Then you're the lucky one." Draco grimaced. "We're going to the Burrow afterwards; Mrs. Weasley invited us."

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

"I have to admit you left a lasting impression on Father." Draco brushed the ash off his shoulders and then he frowned at the strange décor of the parlor at 12 Grimmauld Place.

"Who would've thought Lucius and I would bond over the Weasley twins?" Harry chuckled, the palm of his hand brushing his cloak. "What about your mother?"

"She holds you in high regard," Draco drawled. "It was an interesting dinner anyway."

"If by interesting you mean people glaring at each other, and Forge and Gred unleashing a prank, you're certainly right," Harry flashed him a wicked smile.

"George lightened the mood first." Draco said with a smile. "Dressing up as Father Christmas and placing the twins' gifts under the Christmas tree."

"Dressed in a Gryffindor red suit with white trimmings, even wearing gloves. Lucius' eyes were bugging out." Harry smirked. "I thought he was going to hex Fred and George for sure, but he just laughed."

"It's such a pity the twins' prank backfired," Draco gave him a wolfish grin that caused heat to pool in Harry's groin.

"Those runes of Hermione's are nasty," Harry said with a shudder. "Narcissa ended up helping poor Gred and Forge."

"Yeah, did you see Mrs. Weasley's face?" Draco chuckled darkly. "She was none too pleased when her Christmas cake ended up flying all over the table before crashing against the twins."

"It was very entertaining," Harry said with a sigh.

Draco stalked towards him and raised his hand to cup Harry's chin between his thumb and forefinger. "Thank Merlin for that! Those pranks kept me from thinking about you too much."

"They did?" Harry wiggled his eyebrows.

Draco leaned forward and whispered in Harry's ear, "Else I would've hauled you to the Manor to shag you into next week."

Harry leaned into Draco's tall form, raising his hand to brush his fingers through the silky hair he loved so much. "Really?"

Draco bent down with eyes dark grey and mesmerizing, his lips smooth against Harry's. Draco nibbled the seam of his mouth, tongue brushing against bottom lip to gain entrance. Harry's lips parted, his calloused fingers caressing a path down pale cheeks as Draco sucked his groans into his mouth just like he was sucking on Harry's tongue. Pale hands snaked down his strong shoulders, caressing slim flanks until they grabbed a handful of Harry's supple ass.

Harry rubbed against him, seeking to relieve the aching pressure on his arousal and Draco ground his hips in return, showing Harry the effect he had on him.

Draco broke the kiss and tipped his chin, a thread of saliva connecting their lips for a second. "You want this, don't you?" he murmured, his hands kneading Harry's pert ass.

"Of course I do." Harry's hand snuck into Draco's pocket to grip the supple holly, and then he pulled out the wand and Apparated them into his bedroom. Draco grimaced at the uncomfortable sensation of Side-along Apparition.

"Warn a bloke, will you?" He soundly smacked Harry's rump, drinking up the resultant whimpers.

Pale fingers twined with Harry's and gently grabbed his holly wand as he drawled, "You like my wand, don't you?"

Harry blushed and nuzzled Draco's chest. "The Phoenix feather core calls to me, and it's easy to use."

"You're acquainted with it, Potter." Draco rolled his hips and Harry gasped at the hotness of their clothed arousals rubbing against each other. "But my other wand would love to know you inside and out."

Harry grabbed Draco's wand and cast a spell which vanished their clothes. "Too much talk."

Draco nodded. "Let's shag."

Pale hands pushed Harry towards the four-poster bed, his fingers trailing a path down slim flanks, rubbing the cut of Harry's hips, and lifting a strong thigh until Harry hooked his ankle around Draco's hips. The two fell on the bed, the mattress groaning at the sudden weight.

Draco took off Harry's glasses and laid them on the floor, and then he entangled his fingers with Harry's and gently pulled on his wand. Draco sat up, the tip of his wand tickling its way down toned abs and Harry's inner thigh until it was in a good position to cast a Lubricating spell.

Harry squirmed at the sensation of cool liquid invading his walls, and gasped when Draco's fingers teased his rim before pushing inside.

"Tell me if it hurts," Draco said, staring intently at Harry's face for any signs of pain. He had seen that handsome face twist in both agony and triumph, studied his gestures to learn to predict his enemy, and later, his friend.

"I'm fine," Harry whispered, his thighs easing apart.

Draco leaned over him and moved Harry's leg up and to the side, hot lips kissing his inner thigh. Harry whimpered, overwhelmed by how full those fingers made him feel. His muscles ached, wanting more; his walls quivered, wanting to draw Draco in.

Harry arched his back, his cock heavy and wet as he pulled in his other leg and draped his thigh over the duvet, displaying himself wantonly as he shot Draco a heated look, silently begging for more.

"What do you want?" Draco said in a hoarse voice he hardly recognized as his own.

"You." Harry squirmed, canting up his hips to swallow Draco's fingers. "I need you inside me."

Draco dragged out his fingers tantalizingly slow as Harry clenched around them.

"You drive me crazy," Draco breathed, eyes dark with lust, imagining that tight heat squeezing his cock.

Draco crawled in close between Harry's thighs and gripped the base of his cock, nudging his legs apart with his knees.

"Come on," Harry wiggled his backside, feeling empty and needy. He groaned when Draco's cockhead rubbed his rim and he thrust up his hips, seeking to impale himself on the thick length.

Draco dug his fingers into tanned hips and shoved inside, groaning at the tight heat that enclosed him. He sank slowly into Harry, grey eyes fixed on his face for any sign of discomfort.

The delicious heat gripped him tightly, and it was all Draco could do not to thrust wildly.

"Wait," Harry muttered. "It burns."

Draco slowed down at the grimace crossing Harry's face. Then he stopped to let him adjust, leaning down to nibble on Harry's chest.

"Just give me a sec."

Draco rolled his hips, trying to find Harry's sweet spot. When a coarse groan escaped those pouty lips, Draco knew he had succeeded. He withdrew agonizingly slow and at Harry's disappointed whimper, he shoved inside once more.

"More… more," Harry groaned brokenly.

Draco splayed his hands on the duvet on both sides of Harry's head and thrust slowly into his welcoming heat, grunting at the exquisite pressure surrounding his dick. He slowly pushed his girth in and out until Harry showed no signs of discomfort. Inch by inch, deeper and deeper went his thrusts until he bottomed out.

"Move, come on, move," pleaded Harry.

"I'm going to fuck you so hard." Draco licked the sweat off Harry's neck. "You'll feel me for days."

Draco shoved in and out, his rhythm harsh and fast, sweat dripping off his chest and falling on Harry, whose neglected arousal rubbed against Draco's abs.

Harry pulled in his legs, hooking his ankles over Draco's shoulders. The new position tilted up his hips and allowed a deeper penetration. Draco lifted his knee and pulled up his leg, foot flat on the bed as he plunged into Harry.

"Right there, there!" Harry yelled. The new angle caused Draco's dick to jab his prostate on almost every thrust.

Harry snaked his hand between their bodies to grab his arousal, his thumb swirling around the cockhead before he wrapped his fingers around his cock and jerked himself.

The fullness inside him and the constant prodding of his prostate were overwhelming. Harry came with a groan, squeezing reflexively around Draco as come soaked his fingers and splattered on his chest.

Harry clenching around him was too much and Draco came with a grunt, pumping in and out a few more times before he stopped and withdrew, his cock sliding out of Harry with a pop.

Draco was panting harshly and it took him a few seconds to catch his breath. Then he bent over Harry to grab his wand to cast a cleaning spell on both of them.

Afterwards, the two exhausted wizards spooned next to each other. Harry wandlessly cast a spell to vanish the duvet and throw a warm blanket over their spent bodies.

"That was great," Harry said with a wide yawn.

"Indeed." Draco leaned forward and nuzzled Harry. "Let's sleep."

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

Harry woke up near the break of dawn. He felt cold, and when he glanced around he couldn't see Draco. He sat up on the bed and bent down to pick up his glasses and look for Draco, wondering where he was.

He found him in the parlor, sitting on the couch as he stared pensively at the Christmas tree. Harry sat down by his side and tried to erase the sad expression on Draco's chiseled face. "You want Father Christmas?"

Draco turned to him and gave a half-smile. Harry scooted closer and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. "What's the matter? Why are you sad?"

"It's just that I was thinking about what Fred and George said."

"Their excuse for pranking us?" Harry scoffed. "Pay no mind to them; they're just trying to get into our good graces."

"But what if it's true?" Draco said. "What if it was only their meddling that brought us together?"

"Listen, we would be together anyway. We've always been drawn to each other, in enmity and friendship."

Draco stood up and started pacing to and fro, his fingers pulling on his hair. "What do you see in me anyway? People hate our relationship. They think the Boy-Who-Lived shouldn't dally with a former Death Eater."

"By Merlin, Draco!" Harry stepped towards him and grabbed his arm. "It doesn't matter what they think, the important thing is what you and I feel!"

Draco sighed and Harry raised his hand to caress his cheek. "They don't see what I see." Harry cupped his chin between his thumb and forefinger as he stared into stormy eyes. "You made me realize the world is not a cartoon, all black and white. You taught me to seek nuance and depth, and I see nuance in you. I see the way you struggle to become a better wizard, always pushing yourself."

"But, Harry, I ambushed Dumbledore…"

"Nope, let me have my say," Harry said hoarsely. "You teetered on the abyss, about to fall into the darkness but you clawed your way back in. Do you have any idea how rare and precious that is? I thought I'd lost you, but you kept going on and now, we have reached this moment of joy."

Draco started to say something but Harry placed a finger on his lips. "Yes, you're flawed, imperfect, and immature – but so am I. I'm no Golden boy. Remember, there's enough darkness in me to fuel a Dark curse. You're nowhere as bad as they think you are."

"If you say so," Draco said doubtfully.

"I do." Harry leaned forward, his brow resting against Draco's forehead. "And I intend to spend the rest of my life proving that's the truth because I love you so."

"And I love you. I've wanted you for so long." Draco wrapped his arms around Harry, holding him tight as he breathed in Harry's scent, alive and warm.

The tender moment was interrupted by the pecking sounds coming from the windowpane. Harry turned his head and glanced at the window, noticing an Eagle owl hovering in the air. It glimmered strangely, its wings swimming in and out of focus as if it was a mirage.

"Chronus!" Draco pulled his wand to unlatch the window. "Come in, you old bird!"

Chronus flew towards them, hooting his greetings as he swooped down on Harry, his claws gripping gently his shoulder.

"I'll get you a treat; don't peck Harry too much," Draco said and then accio'd the owl treats.

Harry untied the parchment while Chronus pecked at his hair affectionately. Draco gave him the treats and Chronus flew towards the hat rack on the corner.

"What does it say?" he drawled, leaning his head and stepping behind Harry so he could read over his shoulder.

And it was by the light of the dawn, striking sparks off the black and blond hair of the Seekers huddled together, that Harry and Draco read their last letter from the future.

* * *

><p><em>Next, the conclusion<em>


	25. Epilogue II - 2018 (Hogwarts sleigh)

_**Author's note: **I've been wrestling with inspiration lately, but it is a distinct pleasure to take part in Slynthidor100's Christmas challenge. Somehow, the picture prompts speak to me and convey the hint of a story._

_For example, I had been mulling ideas about writing a time-travel story, and the first prompt, which was the Hogsmeade Owl Post office, crystallized them into using owls to communicate through time.  
><em>

_Thank you for the kind support, and I hope you enjoy the end of their journey._

* * *

><p><strong>Winter 2018<strong>

"Why do you want to know how I spent the Final Battle?" Fred raised his eyebrows in suspicion. "Don't you remember? I've told the story a thousand times."

"The wards exploding left me a bit dizzy," Harry said tiredly. He drummed his fingers on the Gryffindor table, wondering how long it would take for Neville and the staff to return from the greenhouses. "Just indulge me, ok?"

"Draco and Luna too, I suppose." Fred glanced at Luna, who was seemingly busy reading _Hogwarts: A history._

"Among the runes Hermione used to build the wards is that of forgetfulness," Draco said in an officious tone, his gaze dropping to the odd-looking parchment in his hands. "But if it taxes you too much, we'll ask around."

"Fine, I understand." Fred held up his hands. "It looked a bit suspicious, that's all. Where to start?"

Harry leaned forward, anxious to know how Fred had survived the Battle.

"Well, simply put, I was with Hermione and Ron down there in the Chamber of Secrets," Fred said. "They wanted a basilisk fang for something or other, and I offered to go with them." He raised his hand to rub the nape of his neck. "I wanted to help them, of course, but I went there secretly hoping to get a wand."

"A wand?" Harry's brow furrowed in confusion.

"A wand like Ginny's, to be exact, like the one she got in Second Year when Voldemort kidnapped her and brought her there." Fred raised his eyebrows, his eyes widening in suspicion. "Or did you forget that, too?"

"No, I remember." Harry realized Ginny had found the wand he'd left there a millennium ago, and that thought coaxed a sigh out of him.

"Why did you want to find a wand like Ginny's?" Draco said.

"Because it gave her confidence." Fred rolled his eyes as if that conclusion was the most natural thing in the world. "She managed to cast _Expelliarmus_ on that crummy git, Tom Riddle Jr. It didn't change the final outcome, but Ginny did put up a mean fight." He leaned towards Harry, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "She's never talked about it, but I reckon she found the wand some place in the Chamber and then caught Riddle by surprise. Anyway, she certainly gained confidence from her ordeal. Remember she was confident enough to dump you, old boy."

Fred looked up at the sound of voices in the Entrance Hall, and then he stood up and cocked his head at the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, there are potential customers out there and I've got to tell them about our new line of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes."

Fred dashed off, not without waving goodbye.

"So Ginny found the wand I left behind," Harry mused.

Luna looked up from the book. "Not only that, it's the wand that vanquished Voldemort."

"What?" Harry sat up at that and exchanged a wary look with Draco.

"It's all in the updated edition of this book." Luna patted the bound cover. "Ginny beat Tom Riddle Jr. in the Chamber of Secrets, and then you had a confrontation with her when she was under _Imperio_, managing to wrest her wand from her. It means that you were the true Master of the Elder wand when you squared off with Voldemort; Ginny having vanquished Riddle Jr, and you vanquishing Ginny. It was similar to what happened with Draco in the other timeline."

"That's shocking, but it does have a certain symmetry. It's hard to believe, though," Draco said.

Luna shrugged. "You can check your wand, you know."

Harry creased his brow at that and then fished out his wand from his holster. His eyes widening, he realized it was the supple hawthorn wand, formerly belonging to Draco, that he had in the previous timeline.

Draco raised his eyebrows and then pulled out his wand. When he looked at it, his face denoted surprise for it was Harry's original wand, its wood made of holly with a Phoenix feather as its core. He knew it very well, having experienced its effects firsthand when Harry wielded it.

Draco waved it at him. "Look, I'm using your old wand."

"What?" Harry spluttered. "Why in Merlin's name…?"

"I don't have in-depth knowledge of wandlore." Luna hefted the book and placed it on the table. "But I've heard that the wand chooses the wizard, and since both your fates are entwined, obviously it was easy for your original wands to end up in each other's hands."

Draco blushed, both flustered and proud that his wand ended up with Harry and Harry's with him. They had certainly fought enough duels with them to leave some kind of magical footprint on them.

"That's wonderful to hear," Harry said, his cheeks a faint shade of red. "But how come we can remember our previous timeline? It would be logical if our memories changed just like our wands did."

"I'm not sure," Draco said. "That could be consequence of the explosion of the wards, some kind of magical backlash?"

"You said the rune of forgetfulness was added to the wards." Harry gazed at the stained glass windows at the end of the Great Hall, recalling the many happy times he had spent here. Then he turned to glance at Draco. "That was false, but I recall Hermione used the rune of memory."

"So the wards exploding allowed us to keep our memories of the previous timeline," Draco said wonderingly. "We'll adjust, but it will take time to process all the differences and we are bound to feel a tad strange."

"It'll be just like Hermione said." Harry chuckled as he slouched down on his chair, hooking his hands behind the nape of his neck. "Our memory'll work forwards."

"Indeed you are right, Potter." Draco flashed him a hint of his trademark smirk, remembering his husband speaking Parseltongue not that far away, in a moment when things seemed so troubled. Then he turned to gaze at Luna. "Is that how it is with you, being able to see all those timelines?"

Luna didn't say anything, but the hint of a smile pulling up the corners of her lips spoke volumes about her answer. Then her expression darkened as she recalled all the Snorkacks and Nargles, and wondered if they had made it safely to their respective places.

Draco exchanged a glance with Harry as he wondered what Luna might tell them, and if she saw more than animals in those timelines. Had she caught a glimpse of other Harrys, like he had?

"You will remember things no one here has seen or experienced," Luna finally said, lowering her gaze to the floor. "Now you have an inkling of what it feels to be me."

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

**Christmas 2018**

"I'm sorry that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were unable to join us," Lucius said, his white mane flowing like melted silk in the Malfoy dining room. He glanced at Ron. "Your father promised to show me his aerial convertible."

"Dad's still working on it, Lucius. He loves fixing up the car." Ron shrugged, his hair a rich copper by the light of the sconces. "After all the stress with the Muggle situation, he just dived into substituting the charms that weren't working."

"Well, when we visit your family in New Year's I'll offer my help, if he needs any," Lucius picked up his fork to spear a piece of cake.

Draco glanced at his watch, hoping no untoward emergency at the Ministry would keep him from enjoying Christmas dinner with his family and Harry. He stole a glance at Harry, unconsciously licking his lips at the dashing figure he made, clad in formal evening wear. He hoped that by the end of the night, he would divest Harry of his cumbersome, though elegant clothes.

"I'm pleased you were able to come, Harry." Narcissa raised her goblet, glancing at him. Her features remained strikingly delicate, though now there were laughter lines around her eyes. "And it's been delightful to enjoy the company of Ron and Hermione."

Ron nodded at her, raising his goblet, and Hermione smiled at Narcissa. "Your dinner has been exquisite, Mrs. Malfoy."

"Only the best for Draco, Harry, and their friends, dear." Narcissa blushed delicately. "We coaxed the elves to cut short their Christmas holiday, but it was easy to convince them. They love cooking for Harry."

Hermione smiled warmly at Narcissa when she heard this proof that the Malfoys had really changed regarding elf welfare. She patted the pocket of her smart jacket, wondering if Lucius would allow her to consult the Malfoy Library to research the meaning of an elusive Nordic rune.

"And dear Luna," Narcissa said, giving her a warm smile. "I'm always overjoyed when you come over, and I'm glad the Headmaster made time from his arduous job at Hogwarts."

"It's nice to visit you, Narcissa," Luna said, and sipped her wine delicately, her fingers straying to touch her onion necklace. Her silvery grey eyes widened at the sight of the Snorkack outside the French windows, but she decided to say nothing so as not to disturb Narcissa's dinner.

"Mrs. Malfoy, your dinner was delicious," Neville said. "Merlin knows it was a chore settling the staff and students at Hogwarts, and this brief respite is most welcome."

His tailored robes fit his broad shoulders perfectly, and Neville's handsome features softened when he smelled Luna's perfume. When he gazed tenderly at her, it was obvious Luna was the person that made this dinner memorable for him.

Narcissa called out to her elf, "Knobby, would you please bring more elf wine? We'll need it for a toast."

The house-elf promptly popped in and went around the table, filling the goblets of the family and their guests with vintage elf wine.

After thanking the elf, Narcissa raised her goblet. "I want to wish all of you the best Christmas ever and heartily thank you for gracing our home with your presence."

"Hear, hear." The Malfoys and their guests echoed her sentiments, clinking their goblets together with their dear ones.

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

"You might be wondering why we asked you out for a stroll in the gardens," Draco said, his slim silhouette, clad in black formal robes, in stark contrast with the snow blanket that turned the moonlit landscape into a frozen sea.

"If you want to go over my report of the Unspeakables dealing with the Muggles…"

Harry raised his hands. "No, it isn't like that at all. This is not related to our jobs, but…"

Harry trailed off at the sight of an owl swooping down towards them, his wings shimmering strangely by the light of the moon. Chronus landed on Draco's shoulder and hooted impatiently while Draco untied his message.

"I'm sorry, Chronus, you'll have to fly to the owlery for a treat. I haven't got any," Draco said.

"I do have some treats," Luna muttered, fishing inside the pocket of her robes for a treat. She offered it to Chronus and the owl hooted thankfully, pecking her hand affectionately. Then he took off and flew towards the Manor.

The three of them took the path that would lead them to the fountain at the center of the gardens.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

Draco scanned the parchment and handed it to Harry. "Our past selves, just saying they're okay. They will not disturb anything."

Harry glanced at the parchment, and realizing it held no untoward news, put it in his pocket. "We'll write them back."

"Chronus cannot travel much," Luna said.

"What do you mean?" said Draco.

"All this glimmering is proof that time traveling is affecting his health. He won't live for long if you keep using him for time messages." Luna fished out her wand to cast another Warming Spell on herself and her companions, and then she pocketed it.

"Should we let him live here in the future, or send him to the past to make his home?" Harry raised his eyebrows at Luna.

"Well, both of you are very busy men." Luna shrugged. "The Minister of Magic and Head Auror are very demanding jobs, but twenty years ago you led more carefree lives and a dependable owl like Chronus should be useful to you then."

Draco nodded determinedly. "Then we'll send him with our last missive and tell them to keep him for good."

They reached the fountain, and as Draco glanced at the frozen water which crowned the rim like werewolf teeth, he wondered what it would be like to preserve this moment forever, like frozen water.

"You haven't told me why you chose Chronus to send the first letter," Draco said.

"I was about to pick a snowy owl," Harry confessed, his fingers rubbing the nape of his neck. "But Chronus was very irritable and demanding, so imperious that it reminded me of you and since I was using him to send you a letter, I thought it was a good omen."

"Thanks, I guess," Draco said with a wry smile. Then he turned towards Luna. "And to answer your question, Harry and I wondered if your abilities…" He stopped, wondering how to frame their question.

However, it was Harry who took the plunge, observing his husband's embarrassment and indecision. Perhaps what Luna had to say would soothe Draco, Harry thought.

"We wondered if you are able to see many of us," Harry blurted out, hastening to add, "You see many timelines, and Draco and I wondered how often we got together in any of them, or if we did at all."

Luna hummed in delight. "That's a very good question. I wondered when you would ask me that."

She glanced sharply at Draco, whose pale complexion fit so well the snowy landscape; his hair appeared to be carved out of finest elven silk. Then her glance slid towards Harry, clad in black, handsome features as regular as lines cut out of a diamond, his ruffled hair a dash of black urgently needed to enliven the landscape. They fit so well together in so many ways that it was difficult to describe.

Luna coughed delicately, praying that the Snorkack cavorting beyond the hedge would not stumble and fall into Draco as was her wont. Then she fixed her silvery gaze in Draco and Harry as she said in a factual voice, quite unlike her usual tone, "You have to understand that I don't fully see all those timelines, I only catch glimpses of them now and then."

Draco nodded his understanding.

"I see possibilities of infinity, the what-might-have-beens; in those I've glimpsed you together so many times." Luna sighed. "As Aurors or Potion Masters, Azkaban refugees, deranged dark wizards, Quidditch stars, Muggles, or Heirs of the Founders, your lives entwine."

Harry's eyes widened at the mention of being a Quidditch star. He had seriously considered the idea of playing for his favorite team before the start of the school year. What happened that unforgettable year with Smith, though, steeled his determination to become an Auror and fight to preserve the wizarding world.

"Do you remember our last Hogwarts sleigh ride?" Luna said.

Harry nodded firmly while Draco beamed a smile at her and said, "It was a great time, Harry and I were with you, Neville, Hermione, and Ron. I remember glancing back and seeing the towers of the castle peeking out from the winter gloom."

"The snow covered the trees, and Draco clung tightly to me as the sleigh raced through the snow. That horse was fast!" Harry chuckled.

"In your faces there was such joy at being together at last, such tenderness as you stole glances at each other! That's how you look in most timelines." Luna's smile was as enticing and mysterious as Mona Lisa's, hinting at secrets only she could see. She tilted up her chin to gaze at the night sky, her hair falling in a curtain woven out of moonlight. Perhaps she recognized in the Moon a kindred spirit as she said, "Stars that share the same sky, spirits that haunt each other, that's what you are. Relentlessly drawn to each other by tides of magic. The secret is, the magic consists of your love."

* * *

><p>oOoOo<p>

Later that night, Harry walked into their bedroom at Malfoy Manor, Chronus perched on his shoulder. He patted the owl's soft feathers and shot a smile at his husband. "Chronus didn't want to come; he doesn't want to go to the past."

Draco stood up from his chair in front of his desk and sauntered towards Harry, the window behind him offering a striking view of the Malfoy gardens. The full moon hung low in the sky as he pulled out a treat from his pocket and offered it to Chronus. The owl ate it daintily.

"We'll write the letter and send you to a home you'll love, Chronus," Draco said.

The owl shot him a betrayed look and hooted mournfully.

"Don't be sad, old bird!" Draco drawled. "You are not going to miss us. We'll be there and take care of you, only we'll be twenty years younger."

Chronus blinked slowly, ruffling his feathers, and then he flew to the perch on the corner.

Draco made his way back to his chair and picked up his quill. "What should I tell them?"

"What your heart dictates," Harry said, walking towards him. He bent down to peer over his shoulder. When Draco started writing, the nib scratching softly on the thin parchment, Harry whispered in Draco's ear, "I'll help you if you run out of inspiration."

"You've always done so, Harry, one of the many reasons I love you."

And it was by the light of the moon, draping their blond and black hair in an otherwordly glow, that Harry and Draco wrote their last letter to the past.

* * *

><p><em>Draco and Harry,<em>

_First of all, take good care of Chronus. Luna tells us the owl may not survive long if you use him for time travel, so we entrust him to your good care. Give him a happy home and use him for normal letters, for he has proven invaluable in helping our situation._

_What can we tell you about your future? Nothing meaningful, except that the big troubles are over. There's nothing menacing the Muggle or wizarding world as far as we can see. Together with our friends, we contributed towards solving the seemingly impossible situation that required careful handling of this time puzzle. Tread lightly with time, for it might have unfortunate consequences._

_You will face hurdles, of course, in whatever career you choose. Nevertheless, you will be there for each other, pulled by the irresistible lure that is your relationship – in hate and love you are forever bound._

_Take care of each other and you'll reach us at this end of time's rainbow, to continue meandering along the river of life until we reach its source._

_A wise friend just told us that in the infinite landscape of what-might-have-beens, you dance an eternal ballet of lust and trust, drawn together by tides of magic that are really love._

_Harry and Draco_

* * *

><p><strong>THE END<strong>


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